Japan summons Russian envoy over Putin visit to disputed Kuril island

Japan on Thursday summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Stanislavovich Nozdrev to protest Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed Iturup Island. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi asked Nozdrev to convey Tokyo’s protest to Moscow “as soon as possible,” Kyodo News reported. Putin visited Iturup earlier on Thursday during a trip to Russia’s Far Eastern Sakhalin region, marking his first visit to the island chain off Hokkaido.