Photo/Illutration Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya addresses the emergency session of the U.N. General Assembly on Feb. 28. (AP Photo)

Russia's international isolation was starkly highlighted at the latest emergency session of the U.N. General Assembly on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Almost all ambassadors who took the floor condemned Russia by name. However, the Russian ambassador blamed the current government of Ukraine and Western nations for the outbreak of this war.

Japan must have taken a similar stance after the Manchurian Incident of 1931.

Following a false flag incident staged by Japanese military personnel, who blew up a railway line, the Imperial Japanese Army accused Chinese dissidents of the act and launched a full invasion that led to the occupation of Manchuria, where Japan established its puppet state of Manchukuo.

Japan's strong-arm conduct drew international censure. At a general meeting of the League of Nations, 42 out of the 44 member nations refused to acknowledge Manchukuo as an independent nation.

Historian Katsumi Usui notes in "Manshukoku to Kokusai Renmei" (Manchukuo and the League of Nations) that Yosuke Matsuoka, the head of the Japanese delegation, asserted before the assembly that chaos in China was the cause of confusion in the Far East, and that Japan was its biggest victim.

Will history repeat itself? No matter how total the isolation, that doesn't help correct a wrong course.

Attacks have begun on the Ukraine capital of Kyiv. After bombing the iconic Kyiv TV tower, Russia's defense ministry reportedly maintained that the purpose was to "prevent information attacks against Russia (by Ukraine)."

That's tantamount to admitting that Russia is being attacked by media reports of the very damage it has caused.

In Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, the city hall building was struck by a cruise missile. Beyond the expanse of rubble caught on camera, I wonder how many lives have been lost.

Does the Kremlin really think Russian citizens still believe the lie that military installations are the only targets of attack?

In Japanese history, the Manchurian Incident devolved into the quagmire that was the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the nation kept proceeding on its path to ruin.

Russia is now destroying Ukraine, the global order and its own national destiny.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 3

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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