The Soviet-Japanese experience of cooperation in the development of the Baikal-Amur Mainline: what can be useful today?

The paper reviews the issue of cooperation between the USSR and Japan in the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline in the 1970s. It was proved that in the period under review the countries had mutual economic interests in the Far East. The USSR regarded Japan as a natural resources market and a source of loans and modern equipment required for the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline. Japan was interested in obtaining natural resources. Japan’s transition to knowledge-intensive production since the second half of the 1970s had led to a decrease in its consumed raw materials. The joint exploration and development of the Sakhalin shelf, the different economic systems of both countries served as factors that inhibited the Soviet-Japanese economic cooperation in the process of building the Baikal-Amur Mainline. The article defines the value of the BAM for the Far East development and identifies the possibilities of using the Soviet-Japanese experience at the present stage.