According to Russian Satellite News Agency, in response to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Kōme's request for Russia to remove the Victory Monument in Bakharov, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova gave a tough reply on September 6, stating that such a request was 'equivalent to asking the wind to stop blowing and the sun to stop shining.'
Zaharova emphasized: "Our land was guarded by our ancestors, our history is based on facts, and our memories are engraved on monuments."
She also pointed out that if Tokyo ignores its own history, “then this disease should not spread to other countries.”
Image source: Russian News Agency
On the 4th, a monument commemorating the victory over militarist Japan was unveiled in Khabarovsk, the Far East of Russia.
In the center of the monument stands a 15-meter-high statue of a Soviet soldier, representing the Red Army that defeated the main forces of the Japanese Kwantung Army. The soldier holds a long spear, and a marker decorated with a chrysanthemum pattern is smashed in half.
On the 5th, Yoshihiko Koumura posted on social media saying: "The Chrysanthemum Flag is considered a symbol of Japan's flag. It is completely unacceptable for Russia to establish a monument depicting the destruction of that flag."
She claimed that the Japanese side strongly demanded that Russia remove the monument, stating that “this issue concerns the feelings of Japanese citizens”.
