Russia rejects Japan's protest over Khabarovsk war memorial

Russia has rejected formal protests from Japan regarding a new 15-meter granite monument unveiled in Khabarovsk. The memorial commemorates the Soviet Union’s 1945 victory over Japanese militarism and depicts a Soviet soldier using a rifle butt to shatter a border marker.

Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have demanded the removal or modification of the statue, arguing that the depiction of the 16-petal chrysanthemum crest—a symbol of the Japanese Imperial Family—is “completely unacceptable” and offensive to the sentiments of the Japanese people. The Japanese consulate and Foreign Ministry have described the installation as “extremely regrettable.”

Russian officials, including Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, have rebuffed these requests. Zakharova stated that “the flowers themselves are innocent, the罪 lies with the Japanese militarists,” noting that the symbol was used by imperial forces during wartime. She characterized Japan’s demands as an attempt to “distort the history of Japanese militarism” and an infringement on Russian sovereignty.