Russia screens Soviet film ‘The Defeat of Militarist Japan’ in Taipei. Taiwan accuses Moscow of trying to sow discord with Tokyo.
The Russian representative office in Taiwan screened the Soviet documentary “The Defeat of Militarist Japan” for about 20 Taiwanese guests in Taipei about a week ago.
The screening was held in an office building in central Taipei. Reuters correspondents were denied entry to the event, and organizers said attendance was by invitation only. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry told the news agency that about 20 people from the ”academic world” had been invited.
The screening alarmed Taiwan’s government, which believes Russia is helping China push the narrative of a growing Japanese military threat and is trying to drive a wedge between Taipei and Tokyo, the Reuters news agency reported.
Taiwanese officials said the private screening — organized by the “de facto Russian embassy in Taipei” — is part of a broader effort to spread and reinforce China’s narrative about “new militarism” in Japan, a key though unofficial ally of Taipei.
Taiwan’s National Security Council stated it is “closely monitoring” cooperation between China and Russia, adding in a statement: “The two countries are attempting to amplify specific topics and distort historical facts and political issues.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
China’s Foreign Ministry stated it had no knowledge of the screening, adding that the Allied powers — including China, Russia, and the United States — defeated Japanese militarism and that “upholding and promoting a correct historical view of World War Two is the shared responsibility of the international community.”
“The Defeat of Militarist Japan,” is a 1945 documentary directed by Aleksandr Zarkhi and Iosif Kheifits, made with footage shot by frontline cameramen. It chronicles Soviet combat operations during the war against Japan.
In 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military response from Tokyo, triggering a diplomatic crisis with China and repeated warnings from Beijing that Japan is seeking a return to its militarist past.
On September 4, 2026, Khabarovsk unveiled a monument dedicated to “the Soviet Union’s victory over militarist Japan,” depicting a Soviet soldier smashing a border post bearing the chrysanthemum emblem with his rifle butt. Sanae Takaichi demanded the monument be dismantled, saying the chrysanthemum emblem is “widely recognized as a symbol of Japan” and that erecting a monument depicting its destruction is unacceptable.
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