Japan in Europe: New Realities for Russian Foreign Policy

The intensification of Japan’s political course on the European front, which has been observed over the past few years, received further confirmation this June in the form of a trip to the continent by the Imperial Couple and the country’s Prime Minister.

The Imperial Couple Visits the Netherlands and Belgium

However, the specifics of Japan’s ancient culture also manifest themselves in the fact that the real role of the Japanese Emperor in the functioning of the state extends far beyond constitutional bounds. Within the country, he enjoys unquestionable moral authority, and any contact with foreign dignitaries – whether on Japanese soil or during overseas trips – carries a perfectly clear political message: ‘This country, or the region where it is located, is particularly important to Tokyo for one reason or another.’

It is easily possible to discern the political specifics of the following kind in the faits accomplis of visits by members of the Imperial Family to certain Southeast Asian countries, to the United Kingdom, to Mongolia, as well as in the Emperor’s reception on the grounds of his Tokyo residence of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. Although outwardly these actions are presented as apolitical ‘gestures of goodwill,’ the above-mentioned countries and regions are in fact areas of growing interest for Japan, where competition for influence with its main geopolitical opponent, the People’s Republic of China, is becoming increasingly pronounced.

It is primarily from this perspective that we should approach and perceive the current trip of the Imperial Couple to the Netherlands and Belgium – the countries that might not seem the most important in Europe. Yet neither can they be called secondary, especially the former. Suffice it to recall the role of Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography (ASML) in the revolution of the past two decades in computing systems. Evidence of the extreme significance of this company came in the form of claims by US Commerce Secretary G. Lutnick regarding the possible transfer of samples of its most advanced products to the PRC, in connection with which the company’s management had to publicly explain........

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