Japan protests as Russia’s Putin visits disputed Kuril Islands

What the report says

Japan has protested after Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first known visit to the Kuril Islands, a Pacific archipelago administered by Russia but also claimed by Japan. According to Al Jazeera’s report, Putin traveled on Thursday to Iturup, the largest of the islands, where he met the regional governor and visited a fish-processing plant, a hospital and a school.

The visit quickly prompted criticism in Tokyo. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described the trip as unacceptable and said it offended Japanese public sentiment, while Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated Japan’s position that the four southernmost islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, are an inherent part of Japanese territory. The islands were taken by the Soviet Union in 1945 and have remained a longstanding source of tension between the two countries.

Putin, meanwhile, said Russia was not threatening Japan and argued that Tokyo had territorial claims of its own. The exchange comes against a backdrop of worsening ties since Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine began in 2022, when Japan joined other G7 states in imposing sanctions and providing support to Kyiv.

The Kurils are strategically important as well as economically valuable, with fishing grounds, mineral resources and military significance. Al Jazeera reported that Russia has increased its military presence there over time, underscoring why the islands remain a sensitive issue in regional diplomacy.