Japan protests Putin visit to disputed Kuril islands as tensions persist

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the disputed Kuril islands for the first time, prompting a strong protest from Japan over territory both countries claim. The visit took place on Thursday, according to the supplied report, and was carried out after Putin stopped in nearby Sakhalin. The islands lie close to Japan's northern Hokkaido island and remain one of the most sensitive issues in Russian-Japanese relations.

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The Kremlin released video of the visit, while Russian media said Putin toured a fish-processing plant and was given caviar. The report also said he held a meeting in Sakhalin on ensuring the security of Russia's eastern borders, as Russian naval drills were under way nearby. Japan's foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, said the Northern Territories are an inherent part of Japan's territory both historically and under international law, and that Tokyo strongly protested the visit.

The dispute centres on four contested islands in the volcanic Kuril chain, known in Japan as the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union seized the islands in 1945 and has maintained a military presence there ever since. The issue has long prevented Russia and Japan from signing a post-Second World War peace treaty, and it remains a recurring source of diplomatic friction between the two countries.

The timing of the visit gives it added significance because it comes against a backdrop of worsening Japan-Russia ties since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The report says Moscow's relations with China and North Korea have warmed during that period, while ties with Japan have deteriorated further. In that context, a presidential visit to the islands is likely to be read in Tokyo as both a territorial assertion and a political signal.

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The islands are strategically located north of Hokkaido and form part of a broader arc stretching from Russia's Kamchatka peninsula toward Japan. The report notes that the Soviet Union only declared war on Japan on 8 August 1945, after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and shortly before the end of the conflict. It also says the four islands are known by different names in Russian and Japanese, underlining how deeply the dispute is embedded in national narratives on both sides.

What remains unclear is whether the visit will lead to any further diplomatic steps from Japan or a formal response from Moscow beyond the Kremlin video and media coverage. It is also not yet clear whether the trip will affect any remaining channels of dialogue between the two governments. For now, the main development is the renewed public confrontation over sovereignty, with both sides maintaining their long-standing claims.

Japan has formally protested a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to one of the disputed Kuril islands, in a move that has renewed attention on a long-running territorial dispute between the two countries. Russian state media said the trip was Putin's first visit to the islands. Japan said the island is part of its territory and lodged a strong objection.

Japan's foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, said on X that the islands are "inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law" and that the government "strongly protests" the visit. The island Putin visited is known as Iturup in Russia and Etorofu in Japan. The report did not give further details on the purpose of the visit or any immediate Russian response.

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The Kuril islands dispute has persisted for decades and has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a post-Second World War peace treaty. The issue remains one of the most sensitive in bilateral relations, with both sides maintaining competing claims over the islands. A visit by a Russian president to the area is likely to be viewed in Tokyo as a political signal as much as a territorial assertion.

The islands sit at the centre of a broader historical disagreement that has outlasted multiple rounds of diplomacy. For Japan, the dispute is tied to sovereignty and the unresolved legacy of the war. For Russia, the islands are part of its territory, and official visits there reinforce that position.

The latest protest shows that the issue continues to carry diplomatic weight despite the passage of time. What remains unclear is whether the visit will lead to any further diplomatic steps from either side. It is also not yet clear whether Moscow plans to comment publicly on Japan's protest or whether the trip will affect any existing channels of dialogue.

The immediate focus will be on whether the incident stays at the level of protest or becomes part of a wider deterioration in relations.

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