Russia has scrapped an agreement with Japan to allow Japanese former residents to visit disputed islands off Hokkaido without visas, triggering a protest Tuesday from Tokyo as tensions between the two nations remain high over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
According to KYODO NEWS, the Russian government released a document Monday signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin regarding its unilateral withdrawal from the agreement, a decision that a Russian lawmaker attributed to Japan's participation in Western sanctions against Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Under the reciprocal program, visas are also waived for travel to Japan by residents of the Russian-held, Japan-claimed islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.
On Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi condemned Russia's action, saying it is "totally unacceptable."
Hayashi said at a news conference that Japan has yet to be informed by Russia about the decision, and that Tokyo has lodged a protest with Moscow through diplomatic channels.
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine February 24, Japan and other members of the Group of Seven industrialized nations have been enforcing sanctions, including freezing the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country's central bank.
The withdrawal from the visa-free travel program "followed as a response to the illegal sanctions pressure exerted by the Japanese government and its joining the West's Russophobic policy," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, was quoted as telling Tass news agency.
