Apparently taking advantage of the recent Japan-China spat over the Senkaku Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appears to be trying to put pressure on Japan in the bilateral dispute over the sovereignty of four islands east of Hokkaido aka the Northern Territories.
He visited Beijing on Sept. 26-28, shortly after Japan released, under China's pressure, a Chinese fishing boat captain following collision incidents in Japanese territorial waters near the Senkakus. He and Chinese President Hu Jintao not only agreed to upgrade the Russia-China "strategic partnership of cooperation" but also issued a joint statement on the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Both leaders, without mentioning Japan, said the Chinese and Russian people suffered major attacks from fascism and militarism and condemned "attempts" to falsify the war's history. In July, Mr. Medvedev signed into law a bill designating Sept. 2, the date in 1945 that Japan formally surrendered to the Allied Powers, as the memorial day for the end of World War II.