Japan Protests Russia’s ‘Unacceptable Military Expansion' on Disputed Islands

A Bastion missile launcher moves ashore from an amphibious landing vehicle on Matua Island, part of the Kurils Islands chain on Dec. 2, 2021. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

Japan has lodged a protest over Russian military drills involving more than 3,000 troops on the disputed Kuril Islands, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Monday.

Matsuno objected through diplomatic channels to Moscow over the drills on the islands, which Japan refers to as the Northern Territories which Soviet troops seized at the end of World War II.