On October 31, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned a representative of the Japanese Embassy in Moscow to present a strong protest to Tokyo's recent military operations.
Russia expressed its strong opposition to the "Joint Exercise 2025" military exercise that Japan will organize from October 20 to 31. The Russian Foreign Ministry is particularly concerned because the exercise includes areas on the island of Hokkaido, which is geographically located very close to Russia. Moscow stressed that this province's military activity " poses a potential threat to the security of Russia's Far East border".
However, the focus of the protest did not stop at the Japanese drill. The Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that in this context, Moscow is particularly concerned about another worrying development: The US Typhon missile system has not yet withdrawn from the Japanese archipelago. This system was deployed at the US military base Iwakuni as part of the US-Japan joint exercise "Resolute Dragon 25" (Dragon won 25, which took place from September 11 to 25.
The Typhon system is a mobile ground launch system, designed to be able to fire medium and short-range missiles, including Tomahawk cruise missiles. This is the type of weapon that was once banned under the historic Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which both Russia and the US withdrew from in 2019. The US deployment of such an attackable weapons system in Asia, even as part of a drill, is seen by Russia as a dangerous escalation. Russia is concerned that the system could reach key strategic targets in Russia's Far East.
Responding to these moves, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a strong warning. "On this issue, we note that Russia reserves the right to take necessary retaliatory measures to ensure a commensurate level of security," the statement said. The warning shows Moscow's determination to resist any military presence of the United States and its allies that it says are offensive near its borders.
Tensions have increased as US President Donald Trump has just concluded his trip to Asia, including a stop in Japan to meet new Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae.
