MOSCOW. Nov 2 (Interfax) - Japan's ambassador to Russia, Masaharu Kono, is expected to leave for Tokyo shortly.
"The ambassador will return to Tokyo shortly to clear up all circumstances connected with the Russian president's trip to Kunashir," Japanese embassy spokesman Akira Imamura told Interfax on Tuesday.
"It is not known yet when the ambassador will come back to Moscow," he said.
Earlier, Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara recalled temporarily the Japanese ambassador to Moscow Masahara Kono.
"I have made the decision to recall Ambassador Masahara Kono from Russia," Maehara told the press on Tuesday.
The decision was made in the wake of President Dmitry Medvedev's trip to the Kurils Islands, which angered Tokyo.
Meanwhile, sources in the Japanese Foreign Ministry told the EFE news agency that Kono has been called to Tokyo to assess the consequences of the Russian president's trip to the Kurils.