Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12 made his first visit to the Russian-administered Kuril Islands in the Pacific, a region also claimed by Japan, sparking a wave of protest from Tokyo.
According to Russian state media, Putin visited Iturup, the southernmost island in the chain, where he met with the regional governor and toured a fish processing plant, a hospital, and a school.
Japan asserts sovereignty over the four southernmost islands of the chain, which it calls the 'Northern Territories.' The islands were seized by the Soviet Union during World War II and have since remained a persistent source of friction between Moscow and Tokyo.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called Putin's visit 'absolutely unacceptable,' arguing that the action 'insults the feelings of the Japanese people.'
'This visit by the sitting Russian president goes against Japan's consistent position on the Northern Territories,' Takaichi told reporters.
Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also condemned the visit, stressing that the islands 'are inherent Japanese territory both historically and under international law.'
Relations between Tokyo and Moscow have deteriorated since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine erupted in 2022, when Japan, along with other G7 nations, imposed sanctions on Russia and provided financial aid and non-lethal defense equipment to Kyiv.
In a related development, on February 11, Putin called Japan's sanctions 'unprovoked.' He said: 'Japan regards Russia as the main source of threats. I want to point out that we do not threaten Japan. On the contrary, they are the ones with territorial claims against our country.'
The four disputed islands are part of the volcanic Kuril chain, which arcs from Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula down to Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island. The islands have similar names in both countries: Kunashir, Habomai, Shikotan, and Iturup in Russian; Kunashiri, Habomai, Shikotan, and Etorofu in Japanese.
About 20,000 Russian citizens live there under harsh climatic conditions. The islands hold mineral deposits such as gold and silver and boast rich fishing grounds. After the 1945 occupation, Moscow expelled about 17,000 Japanese residents from the islands.
Earlier, on February 11, Putin visited nearby Sakhalin Island, where the Russian Navy was conducting exercises. According to Russian media, while on Sakhalin, Putin chaired a meeting 'on ensuring the security of Russia's eastern borders.'
