Russia summons Japan envoy over response to Putin's visit to island

MOSCOW/TOKYO — Russia rebuked Japan on Tuesday over Tokyo's protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the Far Eastern Kuril Island of Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu, and summoned Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto, who later appeared at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

According to a Russian Foreign Ministry readout, Muto was told that "Russia's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Southern Kuril Islands are unshakable".

The ministry said the territories "passed to our country as a result of World War II that was enshrined in the relevant agreements of the Allied Powers and the UN Charter".

The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that, in light of Japan's support for Ukraine, Moscow would reserve the right to "take appropriate countermeasures".

The ministry had summoned Muto on Monday, but the ambassador did not confirm his appearance at the ministry, citing personal health reasons.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova later disclosed that Muto had "suddenly felt much better" and would go to the ministry on Tuesday.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK reported that Muto had initially hesitated to accept the summons over concerns that Russia could dominate the discussions, making a balanced exchange difficult. Tokyo later decided to respond to the summons after internal deliberations, NHK said, citing unnamed sources.

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Japanese leadership should focus on its domestic affairs instead of launching what he called "attacks" against Russia.

'Serious concerns'

Lavrov noted that "if Japanese colleagues are now attempting to reshape international law to suit themselves and the United States, their close-knit ally; if they seek to shirk historical responsibility for past misdeeds and are now violating their own Constitution — the three nonnuclear principles are being eroded, and their military is already seeking to carry out overseas operations, something previously prohibited under the Constitution — this naturally gives rise to serious concern".

He said that "if they hope to divert attention from this plainly aggressive militaristic course by launching such, excuse my blunt choice of words, rhetorical broadsides against Russia and accusing us of violating international law, I would advise them to mind their own business. They have plenty of such problems at home".

The latest exchange followed Putin's first-ever visit to the disputed Iturup Island on Aug 13, the first such visit by a Russian president since Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.

The visit prompted a strong protest from Tokyo, and Japan had earlier summoned Russia's ambassador in protest.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Putin's visit was "incompatible with the Japanese position on the Northern Territories" and is "absolutely unacceptable." She also said the islands were "an inherent part of Japan's territory, both historically and under international law", while the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday described the remarks as "anti-Russian" and expressed a "strong protest".

Russia and Japan have long been involved in a territorial row over Iturup and three other islands off Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido. The four islands under Russia's control are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.

XINHUA-AGENCIES