Russia accuses Japan of Russophobia and vicious attacks

(Patria) - Russia, which has had a long-standing territorial dispute with Tokyo over a chain of Pacific islands for decades, has accused Japan of Russophobia and carrying out "vicious attacks" because of the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Soviet troops occupied the islands off the northern coast of Japan at the very end of World War II. The unresolved conflict over sovereignty of the islands, known in Russia as the Kuril Islands and in Japan as the Northern Territories, has prevented the two sides from signing a formal peace treaty.

Japan, which has joined other allies in imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, marks the Northern Territories Day commemoration every February 7 to remind of its positions.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said this year's event was "marked by a special intensity of Russophobia," citing statements by officials and what she called "aggressive actions" by far-right Japanese forces near Russia.

"We have noted that this time, unfounded territorial claims to the southern Kuril Islands were accompanied by vicious attacks on Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine," she said in a statement. The Russian military is present on the islands, which have a population of about 20,000.

Zakharova, reiterating Russia's long-standing position that it has sovereignty over the islands, accused Japan of rewriting history and ignoring post-war realities.