TOKYO, April 24. /TASS/. Japan has delivered a diplomatic note to Russia in connection with Moscow’s declaration of the Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands as "undesirable," Chief Japanese Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference on Monday.
"We delivered a note on April 24 through diplomatic channels, calling the Russian declaration [of the Japanese NGO as undesirable] unacceptable and expressing our discontent over this action," he said. According to Matsuno, the decision "hurts the feelings" of former Japanese residents of the southern Kuril Islands and their relatives. He added that, "for many years, the organization has carried out activities supporting negotiations for a peace treaty."
On April 21, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office declared the activities of the Japanese NGO, the League of Residents of Chishima and Habomai Islands, as undesirable in Russia, noting that its activities were "aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation" and that it "threatens the foundation of the constitutional order and security" of Russia. The agency also noted that the organization's "goal is to tear away a part of Russia's territory (the islands of Kunashir and Iturup and of the Lesser Kuril Chain).
The Prosecutor General's Office duly informed the Russian Justice Ministry about the decision so the latter can include the NGO in the list of foreign and international nongovernmental organizations whose activities are deemed undesirable in Russia.