加藤官房長官、ロシア政府に抗議へ　プーチン氏発言に「留意」

　加藤勝信官房長官は２６日の記者会見で、ロシアのミシュスチン首相が北方領土の択捉島を訪問したことについて「北方領土に関する日本の一貫した立場と相いれず、極めて遺憾だ。近くロシア政府に対し抗議する」との方針を示した。
　プーチン大統領が北方四島での日ロの共同経済活動をめぐり、新たな提案に言及したことに関しては「わが国は法的立場を害さないことを前提とし、ロシア側との協議を精力的に行ってきた。今回のプーチン氏の発言は留意している」と述べた。（2021/07/26-12:40）

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato on Monday voiced regret over Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's visit the same day to one of the four islands at the center of the two nations' long-standing territorial dispute.
   The move was "extremely regrettable as it "goes against Japan's consistent stance" over the four northwestern Pacific islands, the top government spokesman said at a press conference. "We will soon lodge a protest with the Russian government," he said.
   The islands, called the Northern Territories in Japan, were seized from Japan by the former Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The territorial spat has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from concluding a peace treaty to formally end their wartime hostilities.
   On Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent reference to a new proposal related to planned Japan-Russia joint economic activities on the islands, Kato said, "We have been actively engaging in talks with the Russian side on the matter, based on the premise that the economic activities will not undermine our country's legal position."
   Tokyo is paying attention to Putin's proposal, Kato added.