Moscow ( CNN ) -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited islands claimed by both Russia and Japan on Tuesday , provoking an angry reaction from Tokyo . He held a meeting with the governor of Sakhalin and visited Kunashir Island , which is near Japan 's large northern island of Hokkaido . Kunashir is one of the Kuril Islands , which Russia considers part of its Sakhalin region . But Japan claims some of the islands as its territory . Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Tuesday that Russia was taking the `` wrong position '' with the visit . Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there was nothing to comment on when he was asked about the visit . `` The Russian prime minister was on a scheduled tour of his country , '' he said . Lavrov said he hoped to meet his Japanese counterpart `` very soon '' to discuss cooperation between the countries `` substantively and constructively . '' Medvedev held talks with Sakhalin 's governor on improving air transportation between islands , according to the Russian Federation 's government website . When he was president , Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit the islands when he went there in November 2010 . The Kurils stretch between Russia in the north and Japan in the south . Following Japan 's defeat in World War II in 1945 , the Soviet Union annexed the four southernmost islands , which previously belonged to Japan . Ever since , the islands -- called the South Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan -- have been the subject of dispute . That dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty following World War II . CNN 's Ben Brumfield and Alla Eshchenko contributed to this report .
NEW : Japanese Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denies the visit is worth a comment . Russian Prime Minister Sergey Lavrov visits Kunashir Island , near Japan 's island of Kunashir Island . Hokkaido calls the visit `` wrong '' The islands have been a source of dispute between the four countries since World War II .