Japan protests over Russia's military drills near disputed islands

Tokyo has filed a protest with Russia over its military drills near the disputed islands. The military drills were taking place close to the disputed islands near Japan’s Hokkaido.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday Tokyo filed a protest against Russia over the military drills its forces were carrying out near contested islands close to Japan’s Hokkaido region. Matsuno added that Moscow had informed Japan that would be carrying out missile exercises around the contested islands from April 18 to April 22.

Japan and Russia are in a dispute over islands in the North Pacific that date back to World War II. As part of the G7 countries, Japan has also adopted the West’s sanctions on Russia.

Moscow has since dismissed Japan’s criticism of the drills being conducted by the Russian Pacific Fleet. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the drills were necessary for its fleet to be prepared for every possible threat while focusing on Ukraine. Peskov added that the naval drills were being done while adhering to international law.

Last month, two Russian strategic bomber planes were flying over the Sea of Japan for over seven hours. The transit by the Russian aircraft coincided with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Ukraine. The latest naval drills by Moscow coincided with a visit by Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu to Russia after having met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the finance ministers of Japan and South Korea are set to have a bilateral meeting early in May, the first of such a meeting in seven years, as the two countries aim for closer cooperation on economic policy. South Korean finance minister Choo Kyung-ho told reporters during a visit to the United States that he has agreed to meet with his Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki.

Choo said their bilateral meeting would take place on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank annual meetings on May 2-5 in Incheon, South Korea. Their summit follows that of the meeting between Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol last month, with both leaders agreeing to work together on shared regional security challenges.