Japan protests over Russian border guard shooting | Top Russian news and analysis online | ‘RIA Novosti’ newswire: “Japan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a protest after Russian border guards opened fire at two Japanese fishing vessels off the disputed South Kuril islands.
The border guards fired warning shots from a helicopter and then had to open direct fire at the Japanese fishing vessels on Friday when the trawlers refused to stop after entering Russia’s territorial waters off Kunashir Island, the Russian coastal guard service said.
The fishing boats returned to their port of Rausu with numerous bullet holes on their hulls, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, adding that the border guards’ actions could have resulted in the loss of life and were completely inappropriate.
The ministry also said the vessels were fishing under bilateral agreements and urged Russia to take measures to avoid such incidents in the future.”