MOSCOW: The Russian foreign ministry on Friday condemned plans by Tokyo to conduct joint military exercises with the United States later on territories of Japan near the Russian border.

`The Japanese side has been informed of the categorical unacceptability of this practice, the scale of which is expanding every year, including through the involvement of non-regional Nato member states in the manoeuvres,` the foreign ministry said.

`The Russian side expresses its extreme regret at the short-sighted disregard for our demarches on this topic.` The foreign ministry said it had warned the Japanese embassy in Moscow of `inevitable appropriate countermeasures` Russia will take to protect its sovereignty.-Reuters