Only two miles of sea separate the top of Japan from Soviet-held territory. Across this narrow, foggy stretch of water last week came sounds of detonations strong enough to make Japanese windowpanes rattle. The sounds might be either construction blasting or artillery practice. Off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, searchlights from Russian submarines or patrol boats have been turned on the homes of the island's farmers from less than a mile offshore. Shipping between Vladivostok and Russian-occupied Sakhalin Island, which dangles like a knife over Hokkaido, is heavy.
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