Russia protested to Japan on Friday over Tokyo’s plans to hold joint military exercises on the island of Hokkaido, accusing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of putting his country “on a path to dangerous escalation.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a note on its website that a protest had been filed with the Japanese embassy over the announcement that exercises would be held with Germany and Spain later this month.
The letter said Tokyo was told it was “absolutely unacceptable” to undertake military activities off Russia’s eastern coast, especially given the participation of NATO members located far from the region.
“We consider such activities a potential threat to the security of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in a statement.
“It was stressed that the irresponsible policies of Prime Minister F. Kishida’s government are placing Tokyo on a path of dangerous escalation in Northeast Asia and the entire Asia-Pacific region.”
Russia has warned of countermeasures to ensure the country’s defense capabilities, the statement said.
Japan has been supporting Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor more than two years ago.
Tokyo and Moscow have failed to resolve a territorial dispute over four islands near Hokkaido, described by Japan as the Northern Territories and by Moscow, which controls them, as the Kuril Islands.
The dispute has prevented the two sides from concluding a peace treaty since the end of World War II, when the islands were seized by the Soviet Union.
Japan has periodically expressed concern about Russia strengthening its military infrastructure on the disputed islands.
