The Japanese authorities reacted to the arrival of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation to the southern Kuril island of Iturup. The head of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers is on a working trip to the Far East, during which it is announced that he will visit the South Kuriles. Earlier, President Vladimir Putin instructed Mikhail Mishustin to come up with a proposal to Japan on active joint economic activities on the islands. In Tokyo, they practically did not react to such a statement made by the President of the Russian Federation, but they do react to Mikhail Mishustin's visit to Iturup.
Once again, Japan is expressing "regret" in connection with the visit of a major Russian government official to the "northern territories". Let us remind you that in Tokyo they continue to refer to the Russian South Kuriles as “northern territories”.
Nikkei Shimbun writes that this is the first visit to the "northern territories" of a major Russian government official since the introduction of amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
From material in a major Japanese media outlet:
In this regard, the Japanese government's protest is inevitable.
Nikkei Shimbun recalled that about 2 years have passed since the visit of the Russian head of government to the island. Dmitry Medvedev flew to the islands in 2019.
From an article in the Japanese press:
During negotiations on a peace treaty between Japan and Russia, including the issue of the northern territories, the leaders of Japan and Russia agreed in November 2018 to expedite negotiations on the basis of the 1956 Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration, which provides for the transfer of the two islands to Japan. Putin reiterated his policy of continuing negotiations on a peace treaty during the first telephone conversations with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, but personal negotiations did not take place, and the dialogue reached a dead end.
It should be noted that the head of the Russian Cabinet of Ministers intends to visit one of the clinics in the Kuriles, as well as the Yasny fish processing plant. Mikhail Mishustin intends to discuss the possibilities of increasing the volume of the fish processing industry in the region.