Lost in Translation?

In the very public row over Russia’s refusal to extradite a suspect to Britain in the poisoning murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the headlines in the western press are focusing solely on Putin’s statement that Russia is not Britain’s colony:

And the “colonial” quip appears throughout all the articles:

Mr Putin said Britain’s behaviour was “clearly a remnant of a colonial mindset”… “They don’t have any colonies. And Russia, thank God, has never been a colony of Great Britain,” he said.

I find it interesting that the same story in Japan makes no mention of the colonial quote in either its headline or the contents of the story.

I wonder why the change in focus on what Putin said. Or was the Russian simply translated differently into English and Japanese? Did western media outlets see the colonialism quote as a good way to sell newspapers?