Japan on Tuesday ordered the Russian consul in the northern city of Sapporo to leave the country within six days in retaliation for Moscow’s expulsion of a Japanese diplomat last month for alleged espionage.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said his ministry declared the consul a persona non grata, or an undesirable person, and ordered him to leave by next Monday. The ministry did not release the consul's name, but said the step was “conducted as an appropriate measure in response to the measures taken by Russia."
