Why Russia is Fighting Japan Over These Islands

Summary

This video delves into the complex territorial dispute between Russia and Japan over the Kuril Islands, which has persisted since World War II. It explores the historical context, including treaties and wars that have shaped the conflict, and discusses the strategic, legal, and resource-based reasons why both nations fiercely claim these islands. The video also touches on the international stance, the impact on Russia's naval capabilities, and the recent escalation due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, concluding with the likelihood of this dispute continuing into the future.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Russia is involved in numerous territorial disputes, most notably with Ukraine and Japan.
• 🏔 Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and continues to occupy parts of it, questioning Ukraine's independence.
• 🗾 Japan claims the Northern Territories (Kuril Islands), which are currently under Russian control, and this dispute has historical roots dating back to the 19th century.
• 📜 The Treaty of Shimoda in 1855 and the Treaty of Saint Petersburg in 1875 were significant in establishing the initial borders and control over the islands.
• 💥 The Russo-Japanese War and World War II played crucial roles in the shifting control and claims over the disputed territories.
• 🏳️‍🌈 Post-WWII, the Soviet Union occupied the Southern Kuril Islands, leading to an ongoing state of no formal peace treaty between Russia and Japan.
• 🔄 Both Japan and Russia have legal and historical arguments to support their claims over the islands, complicating the resolution of the dispute.
• ❄️ The strategic value of the Kuril Islands is high for Russia due to their impact on the Russian Pacific Fleet's movement and potential resource reserves.
• 🏖️ The islands' potential oil and gas reserves, along with their strategic military importance, make them highly valuable to both countries.
• 🚫 Russia's recent constitutional changes and the ongoing Ukraine conflict have led to a hardening of positions, making a peaceful resolution seem distant.

Q & A

What is the primary territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine?

The primary territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine is over the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

What are the four islands that Russia and Japan are disputing?

The four disputed islands between Russia and Japan are Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai Islands, which are currently ruled from Moscow but claimed by Tokyo as their 'Northern Territories'.

Why did Japan refuse to sign a formal peace treaty with Russia after World War II?

Japan refused to sign a formal peace treaty with Russia because they consider the disputed islands as their territory, and the treaty would have required them to recognize Russian sovereignty over these islands.

What was the outcome of the Treaty of Shimoda in 1855 between Russia and Japan?

The Treaty of Shimoda in 1855 divided the Kuril Islands, with Russia controlling the islands to the north and Japan controlling the four southern islands, which are currently under dispute.

How did the Treaty of Saint Petersburg in 1875 affect the control of the Kuril Islands?

The Treaty of Saint Petersburg in 1875 resulted in Russia gaining full control of Sakhalin, while Japan gained full control over all of the Kuril Islands, including the disputed islands.

What strategic importance do the disputed islands hold for Russia?

The disputed islands are strategically important for Russia as they provide a path for the Russian Pacific Fleet to move into the Pacific Ocean without passing through U.S. allied-controlled choke points.

Why did Japan launch a surprise attack against the Russian navy at Port Arthur?

Japan launched a surprise attack against the Russian navy at Port Arthur because Russia refused to compromise on their territorial ambitions in Manchuria and Korea, leading to the Russo-Japanese War.

What was the significance of the Soviet Union's declaration of war on Japan in 1945?

The Soviet Union's declaration of war on Japan in 1945 was significant because it led to a full-scale invasion into Japanese-occupied territories, including the southern half of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which eventually came under Soviet occupation.

Why did Japan refuse the Soviet offer of returning two smaller islands in 1956?

Japan refused the Soviet offer of returning the two smaller islands of Habomai and Shikotan in 1956 because they insisted on having all four disputed islands returned and did not want to recognize Russian control over the two larger islands.

What is the current international stance on the disputed islands between Russia and Japan?

Internationally, the United States and European Union recognize all four islands as Japanese territory under Russian occupation, while China recognizes them as an integral territory of Russia.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Territorial Disputes: Russia and Its Neighbors

The paragraph discusses Russia's numerous territorial disputes, most notably with Ukraine over Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. It also highlights a lesser-known dispute with Japan over four islands known as the Northern Territories by Japan and currently controlled by Russia. The paragraph sets the stage for exploring the historical context and complexities behind these territorial claims.

05:02

🏳️‍🌈 Historical Context of the Russia-Japan Dispute

This paragraph delves into the historical background of the Russia-Japan territorial dispute, starting from the mid-19th century. It outlines the Treaty of Shimoda in 1855 and the Treaty of Saint Petersburg in 1875, which established the initial agreements over the islands. It also discusses the Russo-Japanese War and the subsequent treaties that have shaped the current claims, including the impact of World War II and the unresolved peace treaty between the two nations.

10:02

📜 Legal and Historical Claims of Japan and Russia

The paragraph contrasts the legal and historical claims made by both Japan and Russia regarding the disputed islands. Japan argues that the islands were peacefully negotiated and not taken by force, citing various declarations and treaties. Russia, on the other hand, asserts that the islands are part of the Kuril chain and justifies their control based on the Yalta Agreement and the outcome of World War II. The paragraph also touches on the demographic changes and the current political stance of the inhabitants of the islands.

15:02

🛡️ Strategic and Political Implications of the Dispute

This paragraph examines the strategic importance of the disputed islands, particularly for Russia's Pacific Fleet and the potential impact on its naval capabilities. It also discusses the international stance, with the United States and the European Union recognizing the islands as Japanese territory and China supporting Russia's claim. The paragraph further explores the potential for resource-rich waters around the islands and the legal complications that arise from Russia's recent constitutional changes prohibiting the surrender of territory.

20:03

🍽️ HelloFresh Advertisement

The paragraph is an advertisement for HelloFresh, a meal kit delivery service. It promotes the convenience, healthiness, and sustainability of the service, offering a discount code for new customers. The advertisement is presented as a solution to the dilemma of deciding what to eat and preparing meals at home, emphasizing time-saving and reducing food waste.

Keywords

💡Territorial Disputes

Territorial disputes refer to disagreements between nations over the possession of specific territories. In the context of the video, Russia's territorial disputes with its neighbors, particularly Ukraine and Japan, are highlighted. The annexation of Crimea by Russia from Ukraine and the dispute over the Northern Territories between Russia and Japan exemplify how these disputes can escalate into significant international concerns.

💡Annexation

Annexation is the act of a country taking over a territory to incorporate it into its own sovereign territory. The video discusses Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, which is a central point of conflict and a clear example of annexation in modern geopolitics.

💡Sovereignty

Sovereignty is the full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources. The video script mentions Japan's claim of sovereignty over the four disputed islands, which are currently under Russian control, illustrating a key aspect of the territorial dispute between the two countries.

💡Economic Sanctions

Economic sanctions are measures imposed on a country to coerce it to comply with certain policies or actions. The video refers to Russia's response to Japan's economic sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, which led to Russia withdrawing from peace treaty talks with Japan, underscoring the impact of economic measures on international relations.

💡World War II

World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The video discusses the ongoing legal status of World War II between Russia and Japan due to the unresolved territorial dispute over the Northern Territories, indicating that the aftermath of the war continues to influence current international tensions.

💡Treaty of Shimoda

The Treaty of Shimoda was an agreement between Japan and Russia in 1855 that divided the Kuril Islands. The video uses this treaty to illustrate the historical context of the current territorial dispute, showing how past agreements can shape present conflicts.

💡Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War was a conflict fought in 1904-1905 between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan. The video mentions this war as a historical point of contention between the two nations, which has contributed to the ongoing territorial disputes.

💡Non-Aggression Pact

A non-aggression pact is a treaty between two or more states in which they agree not to use military force against each other. The video discusses the non-aggression pact between Japan and the Soviet Union in 1941, which was later broken by the Soviet Union, leading to war and influencing the current territorial issues.

💡San Francisco Treaty

The San Francisco Treaty, formally known as the Treaty of Peace with Japan, was signed in 1951 to officially end the state of war between Japan and the Allies after World War II. The video explains how this treaty did not resolve the issue of the disputed islands, as Japan did not recognize Soviet sovereignty over them, contributing to the ongoing dispute.

💡Yalta Agreement

The Yalta Agreement was a series of understandings made during the February 1945 Yalta Conference. The video mentions this agreement as part of Russia's argument for control over the disputed islands, as it promised the Soviet Union control over the Kuril Islands in exchange for entering the war against Japan.

💡Strategic Value

Strategic value refers to the importance of a location or resource in terms of military or geopolitical advantage. The video discusses the strategic value of the disputed islands for Russia, particularly in relation to the Russian Pacific Fleet's movement and the potential for resource reserves, emphasizing the complexity of the territorial dispute beyond legal and historical claims.

Highlights

Russia has numerous territorial disputes with its neighbors, including a significant one with Ukraine over Crimea.

Japan claims sovereignty over four islands currently controlled by Russia, known as the Northern Territories.

The Japanese Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have recently reaffirmed Japan's claims to these islands.

The dispute over these islands has prevented a formal peace treaty between Russia and Japan since World War II.

The Treaty of Shimoda in 1855 initially divided the islands between Russia and Japan.

The Treaty of Saint Petersburg in 1875 saw Japan gain full control over the Kuril Islands.

The Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century was a result of overlapping territorial ambitions.

The Treaty of Portsmouth ended the war, with Japan gaining control over parts of Sakhalin.

Japan's expansionist policies before World War II led to tensions with the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union declared war on Japan in 1945, leading to the occupation of the disputed islands.

Japan argues that the islands were never taken by violence and should not have been stripped from them.

Russia claims the islands are geographically part of the Kuril chain and were legally acquired.

The Yalta Agreement is cited by Russia as justification for their control over the islands.

The islands hold strategic value for Russia's Pacific Fleet and potential resource reserves.

The international community is divided on the issue, with the US and EU supporting Japan's claims, while China supports Russia.

Recent changes to the Russian constitution make it illegal for Russia to cede any territory.

The dispute remains unresolved, with both sides maintaining their claims and no peace treaty in sight.

Transcripts

today russia is a country which has many

many territorial disputes with many of

their neighbors the most infamous of

these disputes that we've all been

paying attention to recently are the

ones with ukraine russia claims the

crimean peninsula which they annexed

from ukraine in 2014 the russian

president has questioned ukraine's

entire right to independence and the

russian armed forces are currently

invading and occupying large amounts of

the country's territory and while this

dispute is certainly the largest and the

most hostile of the russian government

it is far from the only one for

thousands of miles away across to the

other side of eurasia there is another

brewing just beneath the surface and the

headlines between russia and japan over

the status of these four islands all

four of which are currently ruled from

moscow but claimed intensely by tokyo as

their so-called northern territories two

weeks following the russian invasion of

ukraine the japanese prime minister

fumio sashida declared that these four

islands are a territory peculiar to

japan and a territory in which japan has

sovereignty and then the following day

the japanese foreign minister yoshimasa

hayashi declared the islands as an

integral part of japan and it's not like

they just came out of the blue and

claimed these islands for themselves

after russia suddenly became distracted

with a war over in europe the japanese

government has been claiming these

islands for decades and for nearly 80

years now both them and the united

states government have considered these

islands as russian occupied territory of

japan and even more insane is that

because they consider these islands

occupied the japanese and russians have

never in nearly 80 years actually got

around to signing a formal peace treaty

ending world war ii between them which

means that legally speaking the second

world war is still ongoing between

russia and japan over the status of

these tiny islands and in response to

japan's economic sanctions following the

invasion of ukraine russia has announced

that they're now fully withdrawing from

all of the peace treaty talks with japan

that have been going on for nearly 80

years now so what is it about these tiny

little islands between them that they

each consider so valuable why have they

prevented peace between them for this

long and who between them is actually

the rightful controller in order to

answer those questions we have to rewind

the clock back a bit to the mid 19th

century back at that time japan was just

coming out from a period of more than

two and a half centuries a mere complete

isolation from the outside world and was

just moving settlers and soldiers into

the northern territories of hokkaido and

the curl island chain while

simultaneously the russian empire's own

settlers and soldiers were encroaching

onto the shores of the northern pacific

sakhalin island and the coral islands as

well formal diplomatic relations between

the russian empire and the tokugawa

shogunate of japan were first made back

in 1855

largely as a way to resolve their

conflicting colonial interests in the

curls as a result they signed the treaty

of shimoda which divided the coral

islands across this line with the

russians controlling all of the islands

to the north and the japanese

controlling the four islands to the

south which they called eterophu

kunishiri shikotan and the habamai

islands the four that are currently

under dispute today at the same time the

treaty stated that the nearby sakhalin

or karafuto island would not be

partitioned between them and would be

jointly ruled as a russian japanese

condominium then 20 years later after

that treaty in 1875 russia and japan

came to a new agreement in the treaty of

saint petersburg they basically agreed

that russia would gain full control of

sakhalin in exchange for japan gaining

full control over all of the curl

islands stretching to right off of the

kamchatka peninsula in the russian

mainland which for reasons i'll get into

later was an absolutely terrible trade

for japan so far though all of these

territories have been agreed to through

means of peace and diplomacy but that

would all change at the beginning of the

20th century russia and japan's

territorial ambitions and goals were

beginning to cross over each other at

just too many places the russians didn't

have any ports of their own on the

pacific that remained ice free during

the winter locking down their navel in

trade capabilities across the entire

coastline for the whole season thus the

russians were attempting to expand

towards warmer waters into manchuria and

korea and managed to acquire a lease

from the qing dynasty on port arthur in

china's liaodong peninsula which

crucially did remain ice-free even

during the winter unfortunately for them

the japanese at the time were also

seeking to expand their own empire into

this exact direction as well japan

initially offered a compromise similar

to the one that they had made with

russia earlier over sakhalin and the

curls russian control over manchuria in

exchange for japanese control over korea

but this time russia refused and offered

only a division of korea with japan

across the 39th parallel just one degree

north of what would ultimately become

the dividing line between north and

south korea today japan refused and

decided to launch a surprise attack

against the russian navy anchored in

port arthur which began the 18-month

long russo-japanese war despite all hope

of victory over japan dissolving within

months the tsar continued on the war

anyway in order to avoid suffering what

he called a humiliating peace in 1905

the war was finally concluded with a

decisive japanese victory by the treaty

of portsmouth which seeded the southern

half of sakhalin over to japan among

other things over the next four decades

hundreds of thousands of japanese

colonists migrated into the southern

half of sakhalin from the japanese main

islands and the japanese empire

initiated a rapid series of military

conquests across the rest of asia and

the pacific but peace with russia for

the most part was well maintained this

was however controversial within japan

itself at the time pre-world war ii the

fascist japanese government largely

debated between two different aggressive

foreign policy choices a northern

expansion doctrine advocating for an

invasion and conquest of the soviet

union's far eastern lands largely

promoted by the japanese army or a

southern expansion doctrine advocating

for an invasion and conquest of the

western colonial possessions across the

pacific and southeast asia largely

promoted by the japanese navy before a

decision either way had been reached

millions of japanese and soviet soldiers

faced each other across the frontier of

japanese occupied manchuria and the

russian far east anticipating each

other's moves and occasionally coming to

blows but in april of 1941 the japanese

and the soviets signed a five-year long

non-aggression pact and then just three

months later after that the western

allies in the united states imposed a

total oil embargo on japan this action

was critical for influencing the course

of world events because the japanese

home islands are incredibly barren of

fossil fuel energy resources like oil or

gas and at the time of the war more than

80 percent of japan's oil consumption

was being imported without the oil

japan's war machine running in china

would have quickly run out of fuel and

so they ultimately decided to attack

using the southern expansion doctrine

towards the islands of the dutch east

indies modern-day indonesia which at the

time were known to have large numbers of

oil reserves little did they know at the

time that some of the largest oil

reserves in the entire world were

actually in fact located just to the

north on the island of sakhalin an

island that they already controlled the

entire southern half of there is more

than five times as much oil in these

reserves than in the entirety of

indonesia combined but of course the

soviets weren't aware of any of that at

the time either as it wouldn't really be

discovered and developed until much

later on in the 1990s had japan or the

soviets known about these reserves back

at the time it could have heavily

influenced their military's

decision-making into pursuing the

northern expansion strategy into the

soviet union instead with unpredictable

alternate history but that's not how

things went instead japan attacked pearl

harbor and went to war against america

britain and the other western allies

while the soviet union fought on against

nazi germany and europe but they never

directly engaged each other until the

very final moments of the war the

non-aggression pact that they had signed

was supposed to last until the 6th of

april

1946 but in april of 1945 as the red

army was closing in on berlin and europe

the soviets suddenly renounced the pact

and then just two days after the united

states dropped the first atomic bomb on

hiroshima in august the soviet union

formally declared war on japan and

launched a full-scale invasion into

japanese occupied manchuria korea the

southern half of sakhalin and the coral

islands japan announced their surrender

just one week after the soviet

declaration of war but then three days

after that the soviets began their

amphibious invasion of the curl islands

japan formally signed peace on the 2nd

of september but by that point the

entirety of sakhalin and the curl

islands had come under soviet occupation

all of the hundreds of thousands of

japanese settlers in these territories

were subsequently forcefully deported by

the soviets back to the japanese

mainland and hundreds of thousands of

mostly russian and ukrainian settlers

have since moved in to replace them in

the decades that have followed now this

is all where the source of the modern

conflict over the four islands claimed

by both sides begins let's start off

with japan's perspective japan cites the

ambiguity of the language used in

various world war ii era documents and

statements as backing up their rightful

claims to the islands specifically the

cairo declaration of 1943 made by the

allies which reads verbatim japan shall

be stripped of all the islands in the

pacific which she has seized or occupied

since the beginning of the first world

war in 1914 as well as this quote japan

will also be expelled from all other

territories which he has taken by

violence and greed japan's legal team

would like to point out that the curl

islands specifically are not covered by

the demands of this declaration seeing

as how japan peacefully negotiated their

control from russia in 1875 before the

first world war and even further back

settled the four islands under dispute

back in the 1855 shimoda treaty with

russia these four islands were never

taken by violence and greed and should

therefore have never been taken from

japan further the potsdam declaration

made by the allies later on in 1945 as

the war was concluding reads under

section 8 that japanese sovereignty

shall be limited to the islands of

honshu hokkaido kyushu shikoku and such

minor islands as we determine which the

japanese government is keen to point out

does not address the issue of the four

disputed minor islands directly japan

further points out that the disputed

islands had been a part of tokugawa era

japan since 1855 before the era of the

empire and had never been claimed by or

belonged to russia until they conquered

them by force in the closing days of the

second world war and on that point the

japanese further point out that the

soviet union's declaration of war in

1945 was in violation of the previously

signed defense pact between both nations

that was legally supposed to be in force

until

1946 and as such the soviet invasion and

occupation was illegal finally japan

signed the san francisco treaty in 1951

which ended the legal state of war

between themselves and the western

allies article 2 c of this treaty made

japan renounce all rights to the curl

islands but the treaty also never

recognized soviet sovereignty over them

and the japanese insists that the

islands of eterophu kunishiri shigatan

and habamai are not geographically a

part of the curl islands and thus are

not a part of this agreement and further

neither the soviet union nor russia have

ever signed the san francisco treaty

anyway alright now let's move on to

russia's viewpoint russia argues that

first of all the disputed islands are in

fact geographically a part of the curl

island chain and that the japanese

government's assertion that they are not

is simply a tactic used to enhance their

own claim and this assertion is not

supported by any basic geography or

history second of all russia cites the

yalta agreement of 1945 in which the

western allies explicitly promised the

soviet union control of the curl islands

in exchange for the soviets declaring

war on japan which the russians argue

geographically includes the four

disputed islands however japan's legal

team is quick to point out that they

were never a party to the yalta

agreement and never agreed to or signed

any of its terms further from russia's

perspective there are the people who

actually live within the disputed

islands today the four islands are now

home to roughly 19 000 people the

overwhelming majority of whom are ethnic

russians and ukrainians who

overwhelmingly support remaining a part

of russia shown in pole after pole this

is of course however after the soviets

forcefully deported the entirety of the

ethnic japanese population from the

islands following the end of the second

world war and replaced them with ethnic

slavs and of course russia controls the

islands today and has controlled them

for nearly 80 years now since their

invasion in 1945. so obviously the

question over who should rightfully

control them is pretty legally

complicated and the decades of

negotiations over this very question

have been pretty understandably stalled

as neither side has ever been willing to

give much ground in 1956 the soviets did

offer the japanese the two smaller

islands of habamai and shigatan in

exchange for their recognition of

russian control over the two larger

islands and a formal peace treaty ending

world war ii between them but japan

refused and insisted on having the two

larger islands returned as well and

they've been refusing for decades ever

since because the soviets and later the

russians have just kept making the same

offer over and over again as late as

2006 vladimir putin was still offering

japan the return of habamai and shikatan

and a formal peace treaty if only japan

would renounce their claims over the two

larger islands but japan still refused

and has kept insisting that all of the

islands are theirs and of course today

following the russian invasion of

ukraine the japanese government has

upped their rhetoric of claims while

russia has deployed more military and

anti-air assets to them in response

internationally the united states and

european union each recognize all four

of the islands as rightful japanese

territory that is currently under

russian occupation while china

recognizes them as a core integral

territory of russia and the reasons why

extend far beyond the legal and

historical claims because of course the

islands hold immense strategic value to

whoever ends up actually controlling

them the curl islands themselves are a

vital territory to control from the

perspective of moscow because of the

russian pacific fleet based near

vladivostok which includes nuclear

missile armed submarines that are a core

component of russia's nuclear deterrent

the only possible path that the fleet

can take out into the greater pacific

ocean are through either the narrow

korea tsushima kanmon and tsugaru

straits all of which lead directly

through us allied controlled choke

points on either side or alternatively

through the curl islands which they

actually have control over and can

therefore move across freely and

relatively undetected but there's a huge

problem with these islands during the

winter when the straits between them

largely freeze over with sea ice and

hamper the ability for ships to travel

through the northern islands in the

chain remain frozen for an average of 60

days longer than those in the south do

so if the four southern disputed islands

were ever returned back to japan it

would not only extend japanese and

therefore american influence deeper into

the curls but it would only leave russia

with the northern islands to pass their

pacific fleet through which has frozen

for a significantly longer amount of the

year and would further restrict russia's

naval capabilities in the area further

since the united states already has tens

of thousands of troops deployed to japan

across nearly two dozen bases it

wouldn't be inconceivable that were the

disputed islands ever returned to japan

the united states would then construct

their own air bases there that could

threaten russia's ability to freely move

naval assets through the remaining coral

islands even during the summer and thus

the united states would have effectively

secured the encirclement and containment

of the russian pacific fleet within the

sea of akhotsk and sea of japan and then

to make matters even worse from moscow's

perspective any surrendering of

supposedly occupied territory in the

east to japan would set a dangerous

legal precedent for themselves over on

the other side of eurasia in ukraine

where the crimean peninsula is claimed

by ukraine and nearly the rest of the

world as being rightful ukrainian

territory currently under russian

occupation very similarly to how japan

and the united states view the disputed

islands in the pacific and there's also

the potential resources while it's

unclear at the moment there is

significant speculation that the area

around them could be rich in oil and gas

reserves especially when considering

that some of the largest reserves ever

discovered in the world are very nearby

offshore of northeastern sakhalin were

similar reserves to ever be discovered

within the waters around the curls and

the disputed islands it would

dramatically change the calculus on both

sides especially considering the huge

changes in exclusive economic zone

borders that would happen were the

islands to be given back to japan

so for all of these reasons moscow is

highly unlikely to ever consider giving

the islands back to japan and in fact

it's now illegal to do so following

recent changes made to the russian

constitution that have made it illegal

for the state to ever give up any of its

territory to another power which was

specifically written in with the

disputed islands and crimea both in mind

and now following the sanctions and the

heightened rhetoric coming from tokyo

moscow has fully withdrawn from all

peace agreement talks and has once again

begun to militarize the islands as a

show of force to the world final peace

between japan and russia has ultimately

proven to be elusive and the question of

who should rightfully control the four

islands seems like it will remain open

for the foreseeable future

if you're anything like me you typically

struggle to decide what to do at dinner

time should i order expensive takeout

eat on healthy freezer food or make a

time-consuming home-cooked meal i

struggled with these same decisions for

years until i began using hellofresh

because it's simultaneously healthy

affordable and fast every week i select

all of the meals that i want on their

app and then a box arrives on my

doorstep with all of the ingredients

needed in exactly the right quantities

needed this instantly cuts out all of

your shopping time and the majority of

your prep time so that you can get

straight to the most fun part actually

cooking as an example i made this

incredible buffalo spiced chicken in

less than 30 minutes at the same time

hello fresh is also a much more

sustainable choice unlike the grocery

store they offset all of their emissions

their packaging is made out of recycled

material and a university of michigan

study found that the pre-portioned

ingredients lower food waste by 25

when compared with grocery shopping all

in all hellofresh simply makes meal time

better and that's why i've been using

them for years i'd highly recommend that

you try them out as well which you can

do with an insanely good deal when you

click the button that's here on screen

right now or go to hellofresh.com and

use code reallifelore16

for up to 16 free meals and three

additional surprise gifts it's a great

way to also support my channel and as

always thank you so much for watching