Tokyo condemns the Russian president’s trip to Iturup, renewing tensions over the long-running Kuril Islands dispute.
TOKYO: Russia-Japan tensions over the disputed Kuril Islands intensified Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, known as Etorofu in Japan, drawing a strong protest from Tokyo.
Putin traveled to the island after overseeing Russian naval exercises in the Far East and visited the Yasny fish-processing plant, where he met local residents and sampled fish roe, Russian state media reported. According to TASS, it was Putin’s first visit to any of the disputed Kuril Islands.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi condemned the visit, saying the Northern Territories, including Etorofu, are Japan’s inherent territory under history and international law. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also described the visit as “absolutely unacceptable.”
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The four southernmost Kuril Islands have been administered by Russia since the Soviet Union took control of them at the end of World War II. Japan claims the islands as the Northern Territories, while the territorial dispute remains the main obstacle to a formal peace treaty between Moscow and Tokyo.
The Kuril Islands stretch between Japan’s northern Hokkaido and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and hold strategic importance for Moscow. Russia has expanded its military presence there in recent years, including at Iturup, which hosts a military air base.
The visit came amid increased military activity in the region. Russian and Chinese naval vessels conducted a joint patrol near the Kuril Islands last month, while Russia regularly holds military exercises in the area.
It also followed North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launch toward waters off the Korean Peninsula and came ahead of major U.S.-South Korean military exercises, adding to regional security concerns.
Japan has repeatedly protested visits by senior Russian officials to the disputed islands. Relations between the two countries have also deteriorated since Japan imposed sanctions on Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
