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Japan refuses to reinvestigate Russian flag desecration

© RIA Novosti Alan BulkatyJapanese radicals desecrate Russian flag
Japanese radicals desecrate Russian flag - Sputnik International
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Japan does not believe it necessary to reopen a probe into the desecration of a Russian flag by right-wing campaigners in the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.

Japan does not believe it necessary to reopen a probe into the desecration of a Russian flag by right-wing campaigners in the country, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.

Japanese right-wing campaigners dragged the Russian flag along the ground outside the Russian Embassy in Tokyo on February 7, demanding the return of a group of the disputed Kuril Islands in Russia's Far East.

"The desecration of the national flag is regrettable, but there was no violation of Japanese legislation," Edano was quoted by the Kyodo news agency as saying.

The embassy sent a protest note to the Japanese Foreign Ministry just after the incident and Russia later imposed an entry ban on the heads of two Japanese companies over the incident.

Two Japanese extremist organizations, the Brotherhood Community Devoted for Great Japan and the Solidarity League for the Return of the Northern Territories, have been banned from entering Russia.

Russia issued a diplomatic protest to Japan on Wednesday after Tokyo dismissed Moscow's demand for criminal proceedings .

Japan stands firmly by its position that the extremists desecrated not the Russian flag, but "a self-made object," resembling a flag, the Russian Embassy in Japan said.

Both Japan and Russia have laid claims to the South Kuril Islands, called the Northern Territories by the Japanese, since they were annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end hostilities.

 

TOKYO, March 3 (RIA Novosti)

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