MOSCOW - Russia said Monday it has summoned the Japanese ambassador in Moscow after Tokyo lodged a strong protest over Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to the disputed Etorofu Island.
Ambassador Akira Muto will appear at the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, according to Tass news agency.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that his ministry had summoned Muto, but that the Japanese Embassy had replied that he was unable to appear either last Friday or Monday, citing factors including a health issue.
On Thursday, Putin visited Etorofu, one of four Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands off Hokkaido, prompting a backlash from Tokyo, with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi saying the visit "hurts the public sentiment of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable."
The Japanese government then summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev and lodged a strong protest over Putin's visit.
An embassy official declined to say whether a summons did take place or whether Japan would comply with it, citing diplomatic sensitivity.
Japan maintains that four islands, consisting of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, were illegally seized by the Soviet Union soon after Japan announced its intention to surrender in World War II. Russia argues the seizure was legitimate.
The territorial row has prevented Japan and Russia from concluding a postwar peace treaty.
The visit was Putin's first as either the country's president, a role he has held non-consecutively since 2000, or during the period from 2008 to 2012 when he was prime minister. Then President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian head of state to visit the disputed islands when he went to Kunashiri Island in 2010.
