Japan protests against Medvedev's island visit

Japan protests against Medvedev's island visit

Japan protests against Medvedev's island visit
Local Japanese News In English

Japan lodged a protest Monday against Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Kunashiri Island, one of a group of Russian-held but Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido, with Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara summoning Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Bely. Maehara said at a Diet committee meeting that the first-ever visit by a leader of Russia or the former Soviet Union to the island "hurts Japanese public sentiment." Prime Minister Naoto Kan also told the committee the trip is "extremely deplorable." Bely told reporters after meeting with Maehara that the president's visit was made "purely from the standpoint of domestic politics" and "has no significance internationally." (AP)
Source: cleanup