Japan cast a worried eye toward Russia Wednesday in the wake of an extreme nationalist party's strong showing in parliamentary elections.
The outcome of Sunday's polling is raising fears of renewed Russian instability and dampening hopes for settling thorny issues like Russian dumping of nuclear waste and a long-running territorial dispute.The top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Masayoshi Takemura, responded sharply to remarks attributed to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, whose far-right Liberal Democratic Party took nearly one-quarter of the vote.
Zhirinovsky reportedly said no territorial dispute exists between Russia and Japan because the islands in question - off the coast of the northernmost main Japanese island of Hokkaido - belong to Russia. Takemura, speaking to reporters, called that "extremely irresponsible."
Others, too, voiced dismay about Zhirinovsky's stance on the islands, seized by the Soviets in the closing days of World War II.
"We feel horrified about the resurgence of such an anachronistic man. It's a sign of a new hegemony coming up," said Masateru Naka-yama, a veteran politician who once headed a group working for the return of the islands.
Nakayama expressed fears that Russian President Boris Yeltsin would be more vulnerable than ever to the power of nationalists who vehemently oppose giving up any Russian territory.
The territorial dispute has long strained Russo-Japanese ties and blocked large-scale Japanese aid to Russia.
Ties warmed somewhat in October with a visit by Yeltsin, the first state visit ever by a Russian leader. Within days, though, the Tokyo government was angered when Russia dumped a cargo of nuclear waste into the Sea of Japan.
Japanese officials, while supporting Yeltsin's reforms, have long regarded him as somewhat boorish and unpredictable.
Noting Zhirinovsky's presidential aspirations, the economic newspaper Nihon Keizai said in an editorial: "If he should win, an anachronistic Russian empire may be born."