Iwashita Akihiro, Professor, Hokkaido University   Fukuzawa Hideo, an inhabitant of the Habomai Islands, one of the four Northern Territories, has this to say about the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “It brought back strong memories of how Russia expelled us from our island. A TV report showing crying children under attack in Ukraine reminded me of myself at the time.”  On August 18, 1945, when the Soviet Union army began its invasion and occupation of Shumushu Island at the northern edge of the Kuril Islands of Japan, there was fierce fighting with the Japanese army units they encountered. Japan had already accepted the Potsdam Declaration on August 14 and implemented “disarmament” of the Southern Kurils (Etorofu and Kunashiri), Shikotan and Habomai Islands. It therefore offered no resistance to the Soviet occupation after the battle of the Northern Kurils. Many Japanese soldiers were sent … Continue reading The Russian War in Ukraine: An Invasion Named “Liberation”