Japan has told Russia the deployment of missiles on disputed islands in the Pacific is "deplorable", Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday, ahead of talks aimed at resolving a decades-old territorial spat.
The positioning of coastal defence missiles on two of the four islands in contention was reported by Russian media this week and comes after concerted efforts by both countries to improve relations.
Japan-Russian ties have been hamstrung by a row dating back to the end of World War II when Soviet troops seized the southernmost islands in the Kuril chain, known as the Northern Territories in Japan, that lies off the northeast coast of Hokkaido.
The tensions have prevented the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending wartime hostilities, and have hindered trade and investment.
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