Russia on Tuesday rebuked Japan’s ambassador to Moscow over the disputed Kuril islands, which President Vladimir Putin visited for the first time last week.<\/p>\n
Bilateral relations have long been strained over the Kurils, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.<\/p>\n
The Soviet Union seized the islands in 1945, near the end of World War II, then expelled the Japanese population.<\/p>\n
Putin visited the islands last Thursday, prompting Japan to summon the Russian ambassador in protest — and Russia to follow suit.<\/p>\n
After being summoned to Russia’s foreign ministry, Japanese ambassador Akira Muto was told that “Russia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands are unshakable,” according to Moscow’s readout.<\/p>\n
It added that, in light of Japan’s support for Ukraine, Moscow would reserve the right to “take appropriate counter-measures”.<\/p>\n
Putin’s visit was the first trip to the islands by a Russian president since Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.<\/p>\n
After Putin’s stop, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the islands “are an inherent part of Japan’s territory, both historically and under international law”.<\/p>\n
The Russian foreign ministry on Tuesday called those statements “anti-Russian” and expressed a “strong protest”.<\/p>\n
Muto was initially summoned on Monday, but he did not immediately accede.<\/p>\n
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov then said Tokyo had “crossed the line of decency”.<\/p>\n
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that Muto did not initially respond out of concern that Russia would dominate the talks.<\/p>\n
Tokyo decided to accept the summons after internal deliberations, NHK said, citing unnamed sources.<\/p>\n
Ties between Japan and Russia have worsened since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine began in 2022.<\/p>\n
Japan has joined other G7 countries in sanctioning Russia and aiding Kyiv.<\/p>\n
Ukraine, like Washington, recognises Japanese sovereignty over the disputed islands.<\/p>\n
Analysts said Putin’s visit to the Kurils could have been aimed at warning Japan against deepening its support for Ukraine — potentially including the direct supply of Patriot missiles — and against closer cooperation with NATO.<\/p>\n
Japan currently provides only non-lethal defence aid to Ukraine.<\/p>\n
While Japan has eased restrictions on defence exports in recent years, it is still barred from supplying lethal military equipment directly to a country at war, including Ukraine.<\/p>\n
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