Japan summons Russia’s envoy

Japan has summoned Russian Ambassador Mikhail Bely over President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to the disputed Kuril Islands.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara called the visit by Medvedev to the disputed Kuril Islands “regrettable,” saying the move “hurts public sentiment in Japan,” AFP quoted Jiji Press, a leading wire service in Japan, as reporting on Monday.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan also condemned the Russian president’s four-hour visit to the Kurils.

“As Japan has kept its position that the four northern islands belong to Japanese territory, the president’s visit there is very regrettable,” Kan told the country’s parliament, referring to Medvedev’s arrival at Kunashiri island in the Kurils, a remote north Pacific territory at the heart of a decades-long dispute with Tokyo.

The archipelago of some 56 islands, which are home to about 19,000 people, has been controlled by Moscow since being seized by Soviet troops in 1945.

All of the islands are under Russian jurisdiction, but Japan claims that the four southernmost islands (to northern Japan) as part of its territory, which has led to the ongoing Kuril Islands dispute.

Russia’s envoy to Tokyo called the visit a domestic matter saying, “I requested Japan to deal with it cool-headedly and in a balanced manner.”

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the visit to the islands should not affect relations.

“The president plans his domestic movements across our country independently,” Lavrov said.

Medvedev is scheduled to visit Japan for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month. In September, Medvedev called the islands “a very important region of our country.” Pundits say the visit is a signal to Tokyo that Russia is not willing to give up the islands.