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Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has postponed a planned trip to Moscow in a swift rebuke to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to the Kuril islands, an archipelago Japan has long claimed sovereignty over.
Medvedev went to Iturup, one of four islands in the chain that lies off Russia’s far eastern coast and just north of Japan, for a day-long visit which included a photo-op with a giant Russian flag and overseeing military training.
He also chose the time of the visit to make public a government decree on expanding Russia’s shelf in the Sea of Okhotsk, a marginal sea which lies just north of the Kurils.
Medvedev said Japan was “getting upset for nothing”.
The visit has led to Kishida postponing a planned trip to Russia in the next few weeks, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported, quoting government sources.

Kishida had been expected to prepare the ground for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a long-delayed visit to Japan this year to seek a breakthrough in the 70-year-old territorial dispute.
Japan called in Russia’s ambassador to Japan in protest at the visit to the islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories.
Hajime Hayashi, the head of the Japanese foreign ministry’s European division, said Medvedev’s trip “contradicts Japan’s position over the Northern Territories and hurts the feelings of the Japanese people... It is extremely regrettable”.
Medvedev however dismissed Japan’s concerns, saying that Russian officials “have visited, are visiting, and will visit the Kurils.”
“We want to be friends with Japan, Japan is our neighbour... but this has nothing to do with the Kuril islands which are part of Russia and are in a Russian region called the Sakhalin region.”
“Our colleagues are getting upset for nothing. This is how it is and how it will be,” he said, as quoted by Russian agencies.
He added that a decision has been reached to base a “modern effective military force” on the islands.
The defence ministry is currently building hundreds of residential buildings for the military on Iturup and neighbouring Kunashir (known as Etorofu and Kunishiri in Japan), with soldiers expecting to move there next year.

Soviet troops seized the islands just after Japan surrendered in World War II.
The seven-decade-old dispute has hampered trade and prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a formal post-war peace treaty.
Both the Kremlin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had hoped to start mending relations in order to revive trade, with Japan seeking broader access to Russia’s plentiful oil and natural gas supplies.
According to the government’s website, Medvedev visited the island’s new airport, sea port, a fish processing factory, and a youth forum where he met with young scientists and teachers.
He and the forum participants took selfies and unfurled a giant Russian flag on the island’s shore for a group picture to mark Russia’s flag day, according to Medvedev’s Instagram account.
“At the Kurils on Russia’s State Flag day,” the picture was captioned.
He went to the Kurils after making an official visit to Russia’s Far East region of Amur, where he visited a space port being built in Vostochny.
The cosmodrome is designed to ease Russia’s dependence on space launches in Baikonur, in Kazakhstan.
Medvedev visited the islands in 2012, and Russia held military exercises there in 2014. Both incidents provoked protests from Tokyo.

 


Japan protests Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to disputed Kuril islands

Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev poses for 'selfies'  during his visit to Iturup Island, one of four islands known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan. Photo: Reuters

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (L) visits a machine gun regiment on Iturup island. Photo: AFP

China's 'dangerous acts' at sea could have consequences, warns Japan white paper

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) has vowed to beef up the country's Self-Defence Forces amid concerns over China's growing threat. Photo: AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) has vowed to beef up the country's Self-Defence Forces amid concerns over China's growing threat. 

Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe hail cordial Japan-Russia relations

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Yume the dog stays inside, away from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Yume then calmed down and allowed the leaders to pet her

Russia, Japan vow new push to end islands dispute

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their meeting in Moscow on Monday. Photo: AFP

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviews Russian troops as he arrives at Moscow airport on Monday. Photo: AFP

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Monday. Photo: AFP

Abe to discuss disputed Kuril islands with Putin

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev visits Kunashiri Island, Southern Kurils also know as the Northern Territories in Japan. Photo: Reuters

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