Ties between Russia and Japan get even worse because of the war in Ukraine

Ties between Russia and Japan get even worse because of the war in Ukraine

　　Transcript¹

　　Russia on Monday pulled out of stalled peace talks with Japan, in response to Japanese sanctions. Japan is following other countries' lead in sanctioning Russia and helping² Ukraine.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Japan Wednesday for being the first Asian nation to pressure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. He made the remarks in a virtual speech to Japan's parliament. Japan has tried to cooperate with the international community in sanctioning Russia. But as NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports, it has had to overcome some constraints³ to do that.

　　ANTHONY KUHN, BYLINE⁴: At the end of World War II, Japan never signed a peace treaty with the then-Soviet Union. That's because of an unresolved dispute over what Japan calls the Northern Territories and Russia calls the southern Kuril Islands. Russia seized them in 1945. On Monday, Moscow pulled out of stalled peace talks, citing what it called Japan's unfriendly positions, a reference to its sanctions on Russia. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida spoke⁵ to parliament about it Tuesday.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　PRIME MINISTER FUMIO KISHIDA: (Non-English language spoken).

　　KUHN: "This entire situation has been created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine," he said. "And Russia's response to push this onto Japan-Russia relations is extremely unfair and completely unacceptable." Last week, Kishida said the Northern Territories were illegally occupied by Russia. Tokyo hasn't used that language since 2009. Mitoji Yabunaka, a former vice⁶ minister for foreign affairs, says that Kishida's predecessor⁷, Shinzo Abe, bent⁸ over backwards⁹ to try to get a deal on the islands with Vladimir Putin.

　　MITOJI YABUNAKA: Former Prime Minister Abe, he had talks with Putin 27 times, 27 times.

　　KUHN: Another reason Japan has been cautious is that it imports about 9% of its liquefied natural gas from Russia. So when Russia annexed¹⁰ Crimea in 2014, Japan responded with a few token sanctions. This time, though, it sanctioned Russian banks, institutions and individuals, including Putin himself. It sent non-lethal aid to Ukraine. And it's begun to accept Ukrainian refugees. Mitoji Yabunaka says the measures have won broad public support.

　　YABUNAKA: Japanese people feel so sorry. And we are so sort of angry to President Putin of his action, invading the sovereign country of Ukraine.

　　KUHN: The invasion has also amplified¹¹ calls for more defense¹² spending to counter perceived threats from North Korea and China. Former Prime Minister Abe even called for considering hosting U.S. nuclear weapons in Japan. Prime Minister Kishida flatly rejected that option. Yabunaka argues that the focus now should be on diplomacy¹³ in Europe.

　　YABUNAKA: This is not the time that we rush into that kind of argument. We should clearly examine what happened before February 24 and what is happening today. Was there any chance for diplomacy to prevent the Russian invasion into Ukraine?

　　KUHN: One result of frictions¹⁴ between Tokyo and Moscow is that the dispute over the remote islands appears unlikely to be resolved soon. That's mostly a symbolic¹⁵ issue, except for Japanese who lived on the islands or their offspring. Sakiko Suzuki (ph) was born on Etorofu - or Iturup in Russian. She's now 83. She remembers that when she was ten years old, Russian troops deported¹⁶ Japanese residents from the island.

　　SAKIKO SUZUKI: (Non-English language spoken)

　　KUHN: Suzuki says that the island was peaceful before Russian troops arrived. And even after, Japanese and Russian civilians¹⁷ managed to get along.

　　Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Seoul.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

8 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

9 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

10 annexed   

[法] 附加的，附属的

参考例句：

• Germany annexed Austria in 1938. 1938年德国吞并了奥地利。
• The outlying villages were formally annexed by the town last year. 那些偏远的村庄于去年正式被并入该镇。

11 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

12 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

13 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

14 frictions   

n.摩擦( friction的名词复数 )；摩擦力；冲突；不和

参考例句：

• Family frictions can interfere with a child's schoolwork. 家庭中的争吵会影响孩子的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As far as we are concerned, these frictions are not of our own making [have been imposed on us]. 就我们来说，这种摩擦是被动式的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

16 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。