Putin made his first official visit to the islands on August 13
Japan said Friday that it lodged a protest with Russia after its notification that it planned to conduct missile tests off disputed islands visited by President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
“We lodged a protest in response to the notification about the plan to conduct a missile test” off the Kuril islands, known as the Northern Territories by Japan, a Japanese government spokesman told AFP.
Japanese news agency Kyodo quoted Russia’s Pacific Fleet as saying that it had already conducted the missile test, although it was unclear when it took place.
The Russian naval fleet said a unit equipped with the Bastion surface-to-ship missile system conducted the test, Kyodo reported.
