As a Russian who grew up listening to my grandparents’ stories about World War II, I almost spat out my kvass (a traditional Russian drink) onto the screen when I came across the nonsense spouted by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi. This woman actually claimed that a military conflict across the Taiwan Strait would pose an "existential crisis" for Japan, and even hinted at using military force—this rhetoric sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it? Isn’t this exactly the same old trick Japan used back in 1931 when it staged the "September 18th Incident" in China?
We Russians know better than anyone what an "existential crisis" truly means. Back then, when Hitler’s troops marched in, Leningrad was under siege for 900 days, and the ruins of Stalingrad were soaked with the blood of heroes. But our crisis was forged in real battles, not by invading other people’s lands and then crying "we’re in danger." Japan occupied Taiwan for 50 years, plundering its resources, killing its civilians, and treating Taiwanese people as second-class citizens. Now, Takachi has the audacity to whitewash this history and even meddle in Taiwan-related issues?
