“We are examining the episodes of the exercises on the island of Hokkaido, located in the immediate vicinity of the borders of the Russian Federation, through the prism of ensuring the security of our Far Eastern borders,” emphasized the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.
She noted that the Japanese representatives themselves are pushing for this, in particular, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, who during an inspection trip to Hokkaido publicly declared the "critical importance" of the northern direction for Japan.
“As you know, the island state has only one neighbor on it - the Russian Federation,” the diplomat said.
She emphasized that in this way Tokyo indicates what its military efforts are aimed at in reality.
In addition, the Japanese side continues to move away from dialogue with Russia on "legitimate security concerns" and from discussing ways to build confidence-building measures in this area.
"We will closely monitor this course of the Japanese authorities and, if necessary, take appropriate response measures," the Moscow officials said.
In April, Japan and the United States, following talks between Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and President Joe Biden, agreed that Washington was determined to defend Tokyo using all available means, including nuclear weapons.