Japan summons Russian ambassador after Putin's trip to Iturup: what we know

Russia-Japan dispute over Kuril IslandsJapan summons Russian ambassador after Putin's trip to Iturup: what we know The Russian embassy stated that the Japanese Foreign Ministry's "protest" and the summoning of the Russian ambassador because of Vladimir Putin's trip to Iturup were an unjustified demarche© Koichi Kamoshida/ Getty ImagesTOKYO, August 13. /TASS/. Russian ambassador to Tokyo Nikolay Nozdryov, who was called in to the Japanese Foreign Ministry to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to the Iturup island, explained to the Japanese foreign minister that the southern Kuril Islands are an integral part of Russia, the diplomatic mission said in a statement. TASS has compiled the key facts about the incident. Ambassador summoned - The Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned Nozdryov to talk over Putin's trip to the Iturup Island, Kyodo news agency reported. Statement from Russian embassy - The "protest" of the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the summoning of the Russian ambassador because of Putin's trip to Iturup are an unjustified demarche, the Russian diplomatic mission said in a statement. - It highlighted that the Russian ambassador explained to the foreign minister that the southern Kuril Islands are an integral part of Russia. - He also said that Putin's trips to his country are a sovereign decision and are not discussed with foreign countries. Russia's position - Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that regardless of what Tokyo says, Russian land is Russian land. - The Kuril Islands were, are and will be Russian land, said Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev. - He added that Japan can declare the Kuril Islands its territory as much as it likes, but this chatter will not change anything, and anyone who does not understand this will face severe consequences. - Japan should remember its own history, and not follow Putin's movements, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, told TASS. - He noted that Japan "will achieve absolutely nothing with protests and challenges to the Russian ambassador." - Slutsky said that Tokyo can call the Kuril Islands "historical territories" until the cows come home, but the results of WWII and the real ownership of the islands aren't up for debate. Japan's position - Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi posted a message expressing "strong protest" to Russia. -He said that all the "northern territories," as Tokyo calls the southern part of the Kuril Islands, including Iturup, are "ancestral [Japanese] territory from a historical and legal point of view." - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi echoed this sentiment. - She also stated that Putin's trip to Iturup complicated the normalization of relations between Japan and Russia. - Muneo Suzuki, a member of the upper house of parliament from the Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party said that the government was making too big a fuss about Putin's trip. - He noted that Putin "is simply fulfilling his legitimate duties as president of Russia." Japanese people react - Putin's visit to the Kuril Islands instantly became a hot topic in the Japanese X segment. - In the first half hour, the topic was trending, as users posted more than 2,000 times about it. - Users are actively reposting news reported by all major media outlets in the country, accompanying the posts with critical and sometimes angry comments. - Groups of far-right activists are holding spontaneous protests in the area where the Russian embassy in Tokyo is located, a Russian diplomatic mission source told a TASS correspondent. - The embassy source said that the ultra-right cannot drive up to the building of the diplomatic mission in their traditional trucks and vans painted with nationalist slogans and equipped with loudspeakers thanks to police closures. - There has been no information about clashes between the far-right and law enforcement agencies. Putin's trip to Kuril Islands - On August 13, Putin visited the Kuril island of Iturup during a trip to the Sakhalin region. - As follows from the Kremlin’s video footage, Putin visited the Yasny fish processing complex. - During the working trip the head of state also visited the Hero of Russia Eduard Norpolov Secondary School. - In addition, Putin had a spontaneous conversation with the residents of the Iturup Island. - The president also held a working meeting with Sakhalin Governor Valery Limarenko. 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