Russia visits disputed islands as Japan lodges formal protest

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited Kunashir island on November 1, 2010. Japan protested immediately, saying the islands belong to Japan. Russia rejected the protest and said it had the right to visit its own territory.

The islands sit between Japan and Russia in the Pacific. Japan calls them the Northern Territories. Russia calls them the Kuril Islands. The Soviet Union took control of them at the end of World War II.

Later, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also visited the islands and announced plans for a special economic zone there. Japan summoned the Russian ambassador each time to show its strong objection.