Tokyo protests after Russia builds new barracks near Japan

Arafat Hasan of DOT
Russia announced on Monday that it had built new barracks for troops on a disputed chain of islands near Japan and further stated it would build more facilities for armored vehicles, prompting a diplomatic protest from Tokyo.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it planned to shift troops next week into four housing complexes on two of the four disputed islands, known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan.
Japan’s defense ministry claims that 3,500 Russian troops are deployed on the two larger islands as part of an on-going military buildup.
The news spread after the Kremlin said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might visit Russia on January 21 as the two countries step up efforts to defuse the territorial dispute that has prevented them from signing a World War Two peace treaty.
In Tokyo, Foreign Minister Taro Kono told a regular news conference that Japan would lodge a protest. Japan said in July it had asked Russia to reduce its military activity on the islands, a plea Moscow dismissed as unhelpful megaphone diplomacy at the time.
“We plan to lodge a protest,” Kono told reporters, adding that Japan would clearly state its position during negotiations, adding that “The premise of the upcoming negotiations is solving the island issue and concluding a peace treaty.”
-Source: Reuters