Russia has summoned Japan’s ambassador to Moscow and delivered a strong protest over what it called “anti-Russian” remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi concerning four disputed islands.
Moscow's summoning of envoy Akira Muto is the latest development in a simmering row between the two countries after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited one of the islands last week.
Russia calls them the Southern Kurils and Japan refers to them as the Northern Territories.
Takaichi said last week that Putin’s visit “hurts the feelings of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin delivered Moscow's protest to the Japanese envoy, telling him Moscow objected to "anti-Russian" statements by both Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
"The Russian side stated that Russia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Southern Kuril Islands are indisputable," the ministry said in a statement after the meeting.
It said the islands legally belonged to Russia, adding, "Any attempts by the Japanese side to directly or indirectly call this obvious reality into question are absolutely unacceptable and unlawful."
The envoy left the foreign ministry without commenting to reporters.
Relations between Moscow and Tokyo have deteriorated significantly since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Japan has joined international sanctions against Russia and provided support to Ukraine.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Moscow told the Japanese ambassador that it reserved the right to take “appropriate countermeasures” in response, without specifying what those measures could involve.
The four islands were seized by the Soviet Union in the final days of World War II.
Russia currently controls and administers the islands, while Japan continues to claim sovereignty over them. The dispute has remained unresolved for eight decades and has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty.
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