Japan recalled its ambassador to Russia on Tuesday following President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to the Kuril Islands, which has been contested territory between Russia and Japan since the end of WWII.

­President Dmitry Medvedev created a bit of history, not to mention controversy when he became the first Russian leader to set foot on the Kuril Islands, part of an archipelago that runs from the southern tip of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula all the way down to Japan.

The Kuril Islands are comprised of four islands – Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai Rocks – that were captured by the Soviets during World War II. Japan is demanding that Russia returns the island group, while Russia says they were never Japan’s territories to begin with.

The standoff over the islands, which are believed to be rich in natural resources, including gas and oil, has prevented Japan and Russia from signing a formal World War II peace treaty.

Medvedev, who was en route to Moscow from a summit in Vietnam, spent four hours touring one of the islands, taking photographs, sipping tea with a local family and paying a visit to a geothermal energy station before flying off again.

"We want people to remain here. Development here is important. We will definitely be investing money here," the president was quoted by local media as saying when asked about future plans for the islands.

He even sent photographs of his trip and comments via his Twitter account.

"It's the president's duty to control the development of all Russian regions, including the remotest ones," Medvedev wrote.

Below one of the photos taken during his trip, the president wrote, "How many beautiful places there are in Russia!"

Sakhalin Governor Alexander Khoroshavi accompanied Medvedev during the brief visit.

Tokyo and Moscow talk tough…

In response to the presidential trip, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara recalled Japan’s ambassador to Russia, Masahara Kono, to the Japanese capital.

"The ambassador will return to Tokyo shortly to clear up all circumstances connected with the Russian president's trip to Kunashir," Japanese embassy spokesman Akira Imamura told Interfax on Tuesday.

The spokesman added that it was not known yet when the ambassador would return to Moscow.

The United States has backed Japan in its claim over the disputed islands and has pushed for both countries to come to a compromise.

"We are quite aware of the dispute. We do back Japan regarding the Northern Territories. The United States for a number of years has encouraged Japan and Russia to negotiate an actual peace treaty, regarding these and other issues," Philip Crowley, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, told a daily press briefing on Monday.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Japan's reaction to Medvedev’s

visit to the Kuril Islands “unacceptable,” arguing that they are “Russian lands.”

"Japan's reaction is unacceptable,” Lavrov told reporters on Monday. “It is our land. The Russian president visited Russian lands.”

The Russian foreign minister then said the Japanese ambassador would be summoned to the Foreign Ministry to discuss the situation.

Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, said Tokyo’s decision to recall its ambassador was overly “emotional” and “a test” for Russian and Japanese relations.

"The decision to recall the ambassador ahead of the Russian president's visit to Japan is a challenge and a test of strength for Russian-Japanese relations, which the Japanese side has initiated, guided by its own understanding of what is good and what is bad," Margelov said.

The senior Russian MP added that there are more important issues and problems in Russian-Japanese relations than the fate of the Kuril Islands, while arguing that neighbors cannot broaden their contacts "with their heads turned back to the past."

…but insist upcoming meetings still on

However, the current spat between Russia and Japan over President Medvedev's visit to the hotly-contested Kuril Islands will not prevent the Russian president from attending the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Yokohama later this month, a Kremlin source told Interfax.

"The situation surrounding the Russian president's trip to the South Kurils, and Tokyo's decision to temporarily recall its ambassador from Moscow in this connection, will in no way affect the Russian president's plans to take part in the APEC summit," the source said.

Meanwhile, Japan's top government spokesman echoed the Kremlin when he told reporters Prime Minister Naoto Kan intended to go ahead with a meeting with Medvedev on the sidelines of the APEC summit to be held in Japan on November 13-14.

Why visit the islands now?

Some analysts suggest that Russia had, in the past, informally floated the idea of a compromise, such as dividing the four islands, but Japan had refused. Whatever the case may be, Russia is not the only country contending with Japan over territorial issues. Japan is also involved in a territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands, as well as with South Korea over another small island.

According to one Japanese correspondent, Japan is paying the price for its past imperialism.

“Japan… is accusing its regional neighbors of reigniting imperialism,” wrote Son-U Jong, in the Chosun Ilbo. “It says China and Russia, which have grown economically powerful, are flexing their muscle. But if China and Russia are guilty of imperialism, Japan is equally guilty of denying its imperialist past. This is clearly demonstrated in the anti-Japanese sentiments flaring up among the Chinese and Russian public, which are fueling China and Russia's territorial challenges against Japan.”

“China and Russia are no longer former communist countries lagging behind in economic power. The more Japan denies its history, the greater the challenge it will face, and this will hurt stability in Northeast Asia. Japan has finally met its match,” Jong asserts.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Lavrov told a press conference in Oslo on Tuesday that the Russian president has plans to visit the remaining three islands sometime in the future to determine what sort of development plans they require.

"This morning I spoke to Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev who expressed his satisfaction with his trip to Kunashir (the southernmost island of the Kurils chain)," he said. "President Medvedev also said that he plans to visit the other islands.

The president said that the Kunashir trip enabled him to make a decision to speed up development of this region and to allocate additional funds for that purpose, the minister added.

Although Japan and Russia will certainly continue the negotiations over the islands, there is no doubt that the territorial disputes are weighing heavily on the Japanese leadership.

One Japanese opinion poll said that Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s ratings had fallen by as much as ten points over the failed attempts to “repatriate Japanese territory.”

Whether or not President Medvedev and his Japanese counterpart are able to find an agreeable compromise to the island standoff will be the big question come mid-November.

Robert Bridge, RT