The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, made his first visit to Iturup, one of the southern Kuril Islands, on August 13, reigniting a territorial dispute with Japan that remains unresolved since the end of World War II. Tokyo strongly condemned the trip and described the presence of the Russian leader in the territory as ''absolutely unacceptable''.
Iturup is part of an archipelago located between Hokkaido, Japan, and the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka. Russia has controlled the islands since 1945, when the Soviet Union occupied them after Japan's defeat. However, Tokyo continues to claim the four southernmost islands, known in Japan as the ''Northern Territories''.
During his visit, Putin toured a fish processing plant, a hospital, and a school. He also briefly spoke with local residents and met with the governor of the Russian region of Sakhalin, Valery Limarenko.
In an informal exchange with residents, Putin commented on the island's weather: ''What a nice climate you have there, like a tourist center''. A woman jokingly replied: ''We thought you had organized it''.
Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island and sparked a strong protest from the Japanese government, which claims the islands
The trip prompted an immediate reaction from the Japanese government. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that the visit ''hurts the feelings of the Japanese people'' and constitutes an ''absolutely unacceptable'' action. She also asserted that the Northern Territories are an inherent part of Japanese territory ''both historically and under international law''.
Takaichi recalled that Tokyo had repeatedly asked Moscow not to allow Putin to make a presidential visit to the islands. According to the Prime Minister, Putin himself had expressed his intention to travel there in January 2024.
The leader warned that the Russian decision could further harden Japanese public opinion against Moscow and complicate the possibility of improving bilateral relations in the future. Japan keeps open channels of dialogue but considers the visit a new obstacle to resolving the dispute.
The Prime Minister of Japan stated that the so-called "Northern Territories" constitute an inherent part of Japanese territory
The Japanese Foreign Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, summoned the Russian ambassador in Tokyo, Nikolay Nozdrev, to present a formal protest and request that he immediately convey the message to the Russian government.
Moscow rejected the Japanese accusations. The Russian embassy in Tokyo described the protest as ''unfounded'' and reiterated that the southern Kurils are an integral part of the Russian Federation. According to the diplomatic representation, their incorporation into Russia occurred after World War II on legitimate international grounds.
The Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, also responded to Takaichi and stated that the Kuril Islands ''were, are, and will continue to be Russian territory''. His statements reflect the increasingly firm position of Moscow regarding the Japanese claim.
Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian Prime Minister, assured that the islands will remain Russian, implying that they are not open to ceding the territory
Putin had already defended this stance on August 12 during a visit to the Russian Pacific Fleet in Sakhalin. The president stated that the Russian status of the Kurils is established in international documents as a reality arising from the outcomes of World War II. At the same time, he assured that Moscow was willing to seek a solution that would allow for a peace treaty with Japan.
The dispute has roots in the agreements reached during the war. At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union agreed that, in exchange for the Soviet entry into the war against Japan, the Kuril Islands would be handed over to Moscow.
Subsequent diplomatic efforts also failed to resolve the conflict. In 2018, then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Putin and promoted economic cooperation on the islands as a possible way to move towards an agreement. However, Russia ultimately withdrew from the negotiations.
The dispute took on a new dimension after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky then supported the Japanese position and recognized Tokyo's sovereignty over the Northern Territories, describing the Kuril Islands as Japanese territories under Russian occupation.
Putin's visit once again places the territorial conflict at the center of relations between Tokyo and Moscow, while Japan evaluates new measures and keeps the possibility of continuing dialogue open.
During Shinzo Abe's administration, talks with Russia about the island were promoted, but Putin's government ultimately abandoned them
