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Curzon
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Curzon

Date

June 17th, 2006

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Headline of the week

Montenegro, Japan To Declare Truce
Jun 16, 2006

Montenegro says Japan has recognized the Balkan country as an independent state, ending more than 100 years of a state of war.

Akiko Yamanaka, Japan’s deputy foreign minister and the prime minister’s special envoy is scheduled to arrive in Podgorica next week to deliver a letter to Montenegrin officials declaring the war is over and Tokyo recognizes Montenegro as an independent state, Belgrade’s B92 radio reported Friday.

If anyone has any idea what this means, please let me know.

UPDATE: Here we go:

The countries have been in a technical state of war since the 1904-05 Russo-Japan War and Montenegro sided with Russia… Montenegro’s participation in the war was symbolic.

Comments to this entry

Steve Hayes
June 17, 2006
10:05 am
Well, that's interesting.

Nice to know that peace is breaking out somewhere in the Balkans, or ev en somewhere at all.
Brett
June 17, 2006
10:06 am
Scroll down! :) From the link you gave:

he countries have been in a technical state of war since the 1904-05 Russo-Japan War and Montenegro sided with Russia. A local historian Told B92 that Montenegro's participation in the war was symbolic.

I never knew that. Neat. So that means that Japan and Montenegro were simultaneously allies and enemies during the First World War, as they were both on the Allied side!
Brett
June 17, 2006
10:07 am
Ha, you beat me to it.
Joe
June 17, 2006
12:15 pm
Reminds me of that headline from The Onion where one country accidentally declared war on itself in the lead-up to WWI...
Dan tdaxp
June 17, 2006
12:22 pm
Both Montenegrans and Japanese are mountain-loving creatures much like the Fungi from Yuggoth. Their citizens love their great hills, whether Crna Gora or Fuji. Come to think of, Montenegro has apparently adopted the elder sign as a logo.... hmmm...
adamu
June 17, 2006
12:36 pm
Though Monty is a newly independent state, you might want to note that this is likely part of a new MOFA policy of reaching out to EVERY country on the planet, as they realized that high-level Japanese officials have never visited something like 40% of the countries of the globe - not smart if they're trying to get a seat on the UNSC. Just something I glanced at in last week's paper. Who knows, maybe they can turn Montenegro into a pro-whaling IWC member (if there are any whales in the Mediterranean)!

http://www.asahi.com/politics/update/0603/005.html
Catholicgauze
June 17, 2006
1:21 pm
Wow. Independence is already paying dividends.
shakuhachi
June 17, 2006
4:12 pm
Both Montenegrans and Japanese are mountain-loving creatures much like the Fungi from Yuggoth. Their citizens love their great hills, whether Crna Gora or Fuji. Come to think of, Montenegro has apparently adopted the elder sign as a logo"¦. hmmm"¦


Do you see the Fnords? I think I see another Illuminatus! Trilogy fan.
Curzon
June 17, 2006
9:12 pm
Sorry for posing the question -- the original article has that absurd break for the advertisement and I missed the explanation (but I did find that info in another article, as noted in the update).
Consul-At-Arms
June 18, 2006
12:19 am
I suppose that since Montenegro hadn't existed as an independent state since WW1, this was just about Japan's first opportunity to end "hostilities."
Lexington Green
June 18, 2006
12:45 am
Those wily Japs are just lunging into this opening, their first chance in living memory to obtain one of their most cherished long-term goals: a warm water port on the Adriatic! They bide their time, and lay very long term plans, these Asiatics. Their naval ambitions were not entirely sunk by the loss of the whole IJN in World War II. No way. They think in centuries. We need to think long and hard about the prospect of the Rising Sun ensign athwart the sealines to Trieste, the harbor which sustains the maritime trade of all of Central Europe! Does no one around here ever look at a map and put two and two together? The Austro-Hungarian naval staff would not have made light of this ominous development, I assure you.

The renewed glorification of Japan's naval past is manifested in recent entertainment products which they are disseminating among their civil population.

Strange times, gentlemen. Be on the alert.
Curzon
June 18, 2006
12:51 am
LG: that sounds like a quote from some famous figure from history. Who is that? LBJ? Nixon? Curtis LeMay?
Lexington Green
June 18, 2006
1:18 am
"LBJ? Nixon? Curtis LeMay?"

Dude: I'm channeling them ALL!

At the SAME TIME!

I think old Lord Curzon himself, were his shade to return to a ghostly simulacra of his office in Simla, might well thwack the map with this riding crop and demand that this nascent alliance be nipped (no pun intended) in the bud!
Curzon
June 18, 2006
1:48 am
Certainly the good Viceroy held :ahem: "conservative" views on race, even for someone of his time (although not nearly as bad as "Woodrow Wilson":http://www.cominganarchy.com/2006/04/20/woodrow-wilson-the-bigot/ ). He was also a big opponent of women's suffrage.

Of course, he never had nasty words for the Japanese. But he was very scared that "someone":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Russia would get a warm water port on the Mediterranean/Adriatic/etc.

(Forgive my third-person writing style, it's been a long Saturday.)
Lexington Green
June 18, 2006
2:50 am
Wilson was remarkably bigoted. There is so much not to like about that awful man.

Somewhat less jokingly, I suppose the Japanese see some investment opportunities in Montenegro. There must be some nice spots along the Illyrian coast for resorts and/or gambling casinos nd suchlike.
Curzon
June 18, 2006
2:59 am
Well, I would hope that all sides have their national interest at heart first and foremost, although all things considered, this is essentially just a big technicality that makes for an interesting news story and little more.

Interestingly enough, the country that is currently tearing up the charts in Japanese business circles is Vietnam. It was the no. 12 destination for foreign direct invesmtent in 2001, but took the no. 4 spot in 2005, surpassed only by 1.) China, 2.) India, and 3.) Thailand.
Joe
June 18, 2006
6:54 am
Must be all those mail-order brides influencing their husbands, no?
Dan tdaxp
June 18, 2006
3:25 pm
what kind of racist site is this??? I compare the Japanese to fungi and there's not one letter to the editor, protest march, or attack on an embassy????

For shame, CA. For shame.
Lexington Green
June 19, 2006
6:50 pm
I just figured something out. This is not about Japan and Montenegro. This is Japan's way of threatening China. This is Japan's way of saying, Hey, China, we are ready and willing and able to support an independent Taiwan. We think it is great when a province of a country wants to be free and independent, and we will go out of our way to clear out any historical baggage to help them along.

I have read that the Chinese are very, very disturbed at the prospect of an independent Kosovo for the same reason -- the message it sends to Taiwan.

So, this is not a joke after all.
AsiaPundit » Blog Archive » Japan’s 100-year War
June 20, 2006
4:23 am
[...] With a possible new missile test by North Korea getting significant press attention, one could be forgiven for thinking that Northeast Asia remains a tinderbox. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Via Coming Anarchy, AsiaPundit is pleased to discover that Japan is finally exiting from its 100-year state of war.: Montenegro, Japan To Declare Truce Jun 16, 2006 Montenegro says Japan has recognized the Balkan country as an independent state, ending more than 100 years of a state of war. Akiko Yamanaka, Japan's deputy foreign minister and the prime minister's special envoy is scheduled to arrive in Podgorica next week to deliver a letter to Montenegrin officials declaring the war is over and Tokyo recognizes Montenegro as an independent state, Belgrade's B92 radio reported Friday. [...]
Elizabeth
June 21, 2006
8:05 am
LG- Cool idea... must think over that one.

Thanks for the news, CA- I missed this entirely.
Anonymous
June 22, 2006
3:32 pm
"Here is some interesting background info (in mostly Japanese)":http://www.geocities.co.jp/Playtown-King/2816/flash/montenegro.html
Alfred Russel Wallace
June 22, 2006
8:05 pm
There is a curious apocryphal story that Berwick-on-Tweed is (or recently was) technically at war with Russia since the Crimean war...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwick-upon-Tweed