Japan slams Putin's visit to disputed Kuril Islands, occupied by the USSR during WWII

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed Kuril Islands drew a sharp rebuke Thursday from the Japanese government, which has long claimed four of the islands in the archipelago.

The island chain is known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils by Russia. The Soviet Union seized them in the closing days of World War II, and they have been a point of disagreement between both countries ever since.

During his visit, Mr. Putin visited a fish factory on the island of Iturup, known as Etorofu by Japan.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned Russia’s ambassador to lodge a “strong protest” about Mr. Putin’s trip.

“The Northern Territories are islands over which Japan has sovereignty and are an inherent territory of Japan,” he said in a statement. “This visit is incompatible with Japan’s consistent position regarding the Northern Territories and is extremely regrettable.”

The proximity of the Kuril Islands to Japan is a major strategic concern to Tokyo. The closest lies about six miles from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called Mr. Putin’s visit to the disputed territory “absolutely unacceptable” and said it would only serve to worsen Japanese sentiment toward Russia.

Tokyo’s relations with Moscow have been strained since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Dmitry Medvedev, a political ally of Mr. Putin who serves as the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, visited the Kuril Islands in 2010 when he was president of Russia. He dismissed the protests from Japan’s prime minister.

“[She] can prattle on all she likes about the Kuril Islands being ‘historically Japanese,’ but this chatter won’t change a thing. They were, are, and will remain Russian land,” he said Thursday on X. “Anyone who fails to understand this will face the monstrous consequences of their delusion.”