Zakharova criticizes Japan and calls for recognition of the results of World War II

Commenting on the visit of Japanese politicians to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, Zakharova said: “I am reminded of what China is well aware of: Japan, as one of the most prominent aggressors in World War II, has not recognized the results of this war for decades, and even strives to portray itself as an innocent victim of the attack by Western powers.”

The Russian official added: "We renew our call to Japan to fully and categorically recognize the results of World War II, which this country fought - as a reminder - in close alliance with Nazi Germany. We also demand that it stop any attempts to beautify the inhuman and dark pages of its history."

In a related context, Tokyo had earlier summoned its Russian ambassador, Nikolai Nozdrev, in protest against President Putin’s visit to Iturup Island in the Kuril Archipelago, which Tokyo claims is “Japanese territory.” President Putin recently visited, during his tour in Sakhalin Province in the Russian Far East on the border with Japan, Iturup Island, one of the southern Kuril Islands, on his first visit to the islands.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry handed the Japanese ambassador to Moscow today a strongly worded note of protest against his country's dissatisfaction with President Putin's recent visit to the Kuril Islands, which Japan claims are "Japanese."

These Russian statements come in the context of the ongoing tension between Tokyo on the one hand, and Moscow and Beijing on the other, over the way Japan deals with its military legacy in World War II, especially the official visits made by Japanese officials to the Yasukuni Temple, which is seen in Russia, China and other Asian countries as a symbol of a military past that refuses to apologize for its crimes.