ID :
134657
Mon, 07/26/2010 - 08:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/134657
The shortlink copeid
Russia designates Sept. 2 as victory over Japan day+
MOSCOW, July 25 Kyodo - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed into law a bill designating Sept. 2 as the anniversary of the end of World War II, effectively stipulating it as a day to commemorate the Soviet Union's victory over Japan, the presidential
executive office said Sunday.
The Russian move to designate a victory over Japan day could be seen as an
attempt by the country to justify its effective control of four Russian-held
islands off Hokkaido, in response to Japan's calls for the return of the
islands.
Russia celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 each year with
a large-scale military parade in the capital's Red Square. The law institutes a
new commemoration day in Russia.
Japan formally surrendered to the Allied Powers on Sept. 2, 1945, with a
signing ceremony aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Japan had lobbied against the law behind the scenes. The formal name of the new
commemoration day under the law is ''the anniversary of the end of World War
II,'' toned down from the anniversary of victory over Japan.
The Russian government could celebrate the anniversary on a large scale, mainly
in the Far East, as this year marks the 65th anniversary of the end of the war.
The upper house of the Russian parliament approved the bill July 14 after the
lower house endorsed it July 8.
With regard to the disputed islands, the Japanese government maintains that the
Soviet Union occupied the territories from Aug. 29 to Sept. 5 in 1945 after
ignoring its nonaggression pact with Japan and declaring war on the country on
Aug. 9, 1945.
On the other hand, Sergei Mironov, chairman of Russia's Federation Council, the
upper house of parliament, has said it is a ''historical fact'' that the Soviet
military's victory over Japan led to the end of World War II.
The government of Sakhalin that governs the disputed islands, known in Japan as
the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, had long called
on the federal government to enact legislation to designate a day to
commemorate the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Japan.
The explanation of the bill said that the Soviet military ''liberated'' the
Kurils including the Northern Territories.
A bill to designate the anniversary was also passed by the lower and upper
houses in 1998, but then President Boris Yeltsin vetoed the bill in
consideration of bilateral relations.
==Kyodo
executive office said Sunday.
The Russian move to designate a victory over Japan day could be seen as an
attempt by the country to justify its effective control of four Russian-held
islands off Hokkaido, in response to Japan's calls for the return of the
islands.
Russia celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 each year with
a large-scale military parade in the capital's Red Square. The law institutes a
new commemoration day in Russia.
Japan formally surrendered to the Allied Powers on Sept. 2, 1945, with a
signing ceremony aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
Japan had lobbied against the law behind the scenes. The formal name of the new
commemoration day under the law is ''the anniversary of the end of World War
II,'' toned down from the anniversary of victory over Japan.
The Russian government could celebrate the anniversary on a large scale, mainly
in the Far East, as this year marks the 65th anniversary of the end of the war.
The upper house of the Russian parliament approved the bill July 14 after the
lower house endorsed it July 8.
With regard to the disputed islands, the Japanese government maintains that the
Soviet Union occupied the territories from Aug. 29 to Sept. 5 in 1945 after
ignoring its nonaggression pact with Japan and declaring war on the country on
Aug. 9, 1945.
On the other hand, Sergei Mironov, chairman of Russia's Federation Council, the
upper house of parliament, has said it is a ''historical fact'' that the Soviet
military's victory over Japan led to the end of World War II.
The government of Sakhalin that governs the disputed islands, known in Japan as
the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, had long called
on the federal government to enact legislation to designate a day to
commemorate the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Japan.
The explanation of the bill said that the Soviet military ''liberated'' the
Kurils including the Northern Territories.
A bill to designate the anniversary was also passed by the lower and upper
houses in 1998, but then President Boris Yeltsin vetoed the bill in
consideration of bilateral relations.
==Kyodo
