To the dismay of the Japanese public, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on July 26 stopped at Etorofu in the so-called Northern Territories despite a request by Tokyo not to visit the disputed islands. The trip is totally unacceptable.
Etorofu is known as Iturup in Russia and is one of the four southern links in the Kuril Islands chain north of Hokkaido claimed by Moscow.
