A Japanese right-wing activist tussles with riot police during a Northern Territories Day protest outside the Russian embassy in Tokyo.
Photo: Reuters
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Anti-Russian Demonstrations in Tokyo
Japanese ultra-rightist organizations have reacted sharply to the recent spy scandal between Russia and Japan. They have begun protests near the Russian embassy, the country's trade office and the state news agency, RIA Novosti. Black buses decorated with nationalistic slogans are circulating through downtown Tokyo broadcasting anti-Russian sentiments over loudspeakers.
Extra police units, rapid response squads and plainclothesmen have been called in to maintain order and protect Russian property. The streets around the Russian offices have been blocked and armored buses with special forces troops are at the sites. Police helicopters are circling downtown Tokyo. Russian citizens are being advised by the Japanese police to exercise particular caution on the streets.
Russian Embassy press attachй in Tokyo Sergey Yasenev has expressed “regret and perplexity” at the spying charges. Head of the Russian consul Oleg Ryabov has been asked to the Japanese Foreign Ministry and informed that “in the event that the fact [of the transfer of information] is confirmed, it will be an extremely serious incident and a decisive protest will be made to the [Russian side].”
According to the Japanese Main Police Prefecture, the information handed over did not concern national security. It was rather information on Japanese public opinion and the reaction of foreign governments to Japanese domestic affairs. All the information was in written, not digital, form.
Japanese nationalists often hold actions timed to visits of Russian officials to Japan and notable dates in Japanese-Russian relations. They usually demand the return of the Southern Kurile Islands to Japan and the departure of Russians from the country.
www.kommersant.com
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