Russian victory celebrations to mark the end of World War II will be held in September on the Kuril Islands, including territories subject to the long-standing sovereignty dispute between Japan and Russia, a media report quoting a researcher affiliated with Russia's Defense Ministry said.
Mikhail Polyansky of the research center of the ministry's Military University did not say which of the islands will host the event, RIA Novosti news service said Wednesday.
Japanese Ambassador to Russia Chikahito Harada told a news conference Thursday that he will gather information about the reported plan so Japan can respond appropriately.
Japan claims sovereignty over a group of Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido that were seized by the Soviet Union in the closing days of the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited by China to take part in the Sept. 3 celebrations of what Beijing calls the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Russia also celebrates the anniversary of Japan's surrender in its Far East region on Sept. 2, the day Japan signed the surrender documents.