President Dmitry Medvedev is now the first Russian leader to visit the Southern Kuril Islands in the Far East. His trip sparked an outcry in Japan, with the country’s prime minister describing the visit as ‘regrettable’.Four islands of the archipelago have long been a bone of contention between Russia and Japan, with both countries claiming them to be part of their territory. Because of Japan’s territorial claims, Russian leaders in the past had been reluctant to visit the islands.
Medvedev first announced his desire to visit the Kurils a month ago. In response, the Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a statement, warning that if such a trip took place, it would seriously endanger Russian-Japanese relations. It is believed that after the strong statement from the Japanese side, Medvedev had no other choice but to visit the islands.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry reacted immediately by summoning the Russian ambassador in Tokyo for clarification.
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude
5.1
Date-Time
Saturday, October 30, 2010 at 22:43:54 UTC
Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 09:43:54 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
46.770°N, 153.406°E
Depth
54.8 km (34.1 miles)
Region
KURIL ISLANDS
Distances
460 km (285 miles) ENE of Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands
480 km (300 miles) SSW of Severo-Kuril'sk, Kuril Islands, Russia
790 km (490 miles) SSW of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia
7170 km (4460 miles) NE of MOSCOW, Russia 1
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 21.3 km (13.2 miles); depth +/- 2.6 km (1.6 miles)
Parameters
NST=218, Nph=222, Dmin=770.3 km, Rmss=0.58 sec, Gp=126°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=1
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID
usa00046i9
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