Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first-ever visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, a Pacific island chain administered by Moscow but claimed by Tokyo, prompting Japan’s prime minister to denounce the trip as “absolutely unacceptable.”
Putin visited Iturup, the southernmost isle in the chain, on Thursday, according to Russian state media. He met with the regional governor and toured a fish-processing plant, a hospital, and a school. Russian reports said he sampled fish roe and spoke with island locals during the trip.
The visit drew immediate condemnation from Tokyo. Speaking from the prime minister’s office, Sanae Takaichi told reporters that Putin’s trip “has worsened Japanese sentiment towards Russia” and “wounds the feelings of the Japanese people.” She maintained the island chain was a unique territory of Japan historically and under international law, and called the visit incompatible with Japan’s consistent position on what it calls the Northern Territories. Takaichi urged the Russian side to take the gravity of the matter seriously.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also protested, saying the disputed islands are inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law, and that the government of Japan strongly protests the visit. The remarks came hours after Russian state media first reported Putin’s arrival on Iturup.
A dispute rooted in the end of World War Two
The four southernmost islands in the Kuril chain sit between Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Japan claims them as the Northern Territories. Russia administers them. The dispute is the main reason Moscow and Tokyo never signed a peace treaty after World War Two.
At the end of the war, the Soviet Union annexed the island chain and deported roughly 17,000 Japanese residents. The four islands, known in Russian as Kunashir, Habomai, Shikotan, and Iturup, and in Japanese as Kunashiri, Habomai, Shikotan, and Etorofu, today hold a population of about 20,000 Russian citizens living in a harsh climate. The islands contain mineral deposits including gold and silver, along with rich fishing grounds.
Attempts to resolve the territorial dispute have made little progress over the years. Japan has protested previous visits by Russian officials to the islands, including Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev. Bilateral ties have remained frosty, and Japan imposed sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, joining other G7 countries in penalizing Moscow and providing money and non-lethal defence aid to Kyiv.
Putin dismisses Japanese concerns and highlights military posture
Putin travelled to the Kurils after visiting the nearby Russian island of Sakhalin on Wednesday, where Russia’s navy was conducting drills. There, he held a meeting on ensuring the security of Russia’s eastern borders, according to Russian media. On Wednesday, Putin called Japan’s sanctions “unprovoked” and said Japan has identified Russia as a main source of threats. He said Russia is not threatening Japan and that, on the contrary, Japan has territorial claims against Russia.
The Kuril Islands hold strategic importance for Moscow. Russia has beefed up its military presence on the islands over the past decade, and Iturup serves as its primary military air base in the region. During the Cold War, the islands provided air and sea bases as the Soviet Union confronted the United States and Japan. Last month, Chinese and Russian naval warships sailed through a strait in the Kuril Islands during a joint patrol. Russia also holds regular military drills near the islands, which have drawn condemnation from Japan.