From the Khalkhin Gol events to the Neutrality Pact: Relations between the USSR and Japan in the reports of Soviet diplomats in Tokyo (1939–1941)

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Soviet-Japanese relations were going through difficult times. The Mongolian issue and border incidents continually worsened bilateral contacts. In a state of hostility and open confrontation, the authorities of both countries detained and rummaged fishing vessels, artificially whipped up spy mania, increased pressure on left-wing elements (Japan) and arrested those who were associated with the enemy side through scientific or other work (the USSR). Limiting himself to two events from Soviet-Japanese history of this time, the author analyzes how Soviet-Japanese relations and the atmosphere of mutual perception changed in the period between the end of the Khalkhin Gol River conflict (1939) and the signing of the Neutrality Pact (1941). Using reports from employees of the USSR Plenipotentiary Mission in Tokyo as an example, the author examines how Japan’s attempt to begin building “new relations” with the USSR affected the position of Soviet diplomats and influenced the degree and quality of interaction between them and the Japanese. It is noted that, by developing cooperation with the Soviet diplomatic mission and paying attention to its staff, both in public and through personal invitations to cultural events, the Japanese authorities sought to emphasize the progressive nature of bilateral relations and create a positive image around them. This approach formed a part of Japan’s foreign policy, conditioned by the international context, in which maintaining relative stability was in the interests of both sides. However, the Japanese “sincerity” encountered by the Soviet representatives often aroused skepticism. For every step or sign of attention from the Japanese, the Plenipotentiary Mission urged its personnel to be vigilant: both the experience of past relations and the perception that changes in Japan’s position towards the USSR were temporary and situational were involved. In some cases, this distrust was intensified by the diplomats’ own stereotypes about the Japanese, rooted in racial, physical, and everyday prejudices.