Japanese PM called Russian PM’s visit to a disputed Pacific island an "unforgivable outrage".

Japanese Prime Minister called on Monday Russian Prime Minister’s visit to a disputed Pacific Island chain three months ago an "unforgivable outrage", saying that Tokyo would tenaciously seek a settlement of the row.

"I will patiently negotiate, with a strong will, in accordance with the basic policy to solve the territorial issue of the four islands and to sign a peace treaty," Japan's centre-left premier Naoto Kan said.
"The issue of the Northern Territories is an extremely significant subject for Japan's diplomacy," Kan told the annual National Meeting to Demand the Return of the Northern Territories.

He also pledged an "all-out effort to convey Japan's position" to Russia, and said he hoped for a solution to the row in a future Japanese-Russian summit.
Dmitry Medvedev became last November the first Russian leader to visit the Southern Kurils, known as the Northern Territories in Japan, which are located between Japan's Hokkaido Island and Russia's Kamchatka peninsula.

Other Russian ministers have followed, despite repeated and strong diplomatic protests from Tokyo. Most recently, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov inspected Russian military facilities there last Friday.

The disputed Kuril Islands have been controlled by Moscow since they were seized by Soviet troops in the final days of World War II, with their Japanese residents expelled and replaced by Russian settlers.
Japan has since demanded the return of the southernmost four islands.