Tokyo: Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed Kuril islands, calling it ‘absolutely unacceptable’ and warning that the move could further worsen relations between Tokyo and Moscow.
Russian state media reported that Putin visited Iturup, known as Etorofu in Japan, one of four southern islands in the Kuril chain claimed by both Russia and Japan. Takaichi said Putin’s visit had worsened Japanese public sentiment towards Russia and reiterated Tokyo’s position that the disputed islands are historically and legally part of Japan.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also strongly protested the visit, saying the islands are inherently Japanese territory under both historical claims and international law. The territorial dispute over the islands has continued for decades and is one of the main reasons Japan and Russia have never formally signed a peace treaty following the end of the Second World War.
本日13日、ロシアのプーチン大統領が択捉島を訪問したと報告を受け、先程、公邸でぶら下がり記者会見を行いました。
2024年1月にプーチン大統領が北方領土を必ず訪問する旨述べて以来、日本政府としては、ロシア側に対し、大統領による北方領土訪問が行われないよう、累次申し入れてきました。…
— 高市早苗 (@takaichi_sanae) August 13, 2026
The Kuril island chain stretches between Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Japan claims the four southernmost islands, which it refers to as the Northern Territories, while Russia has administered them since the Soviet Union took control of the area at the end of the Second World War.
Around 17,000 Japanese residents were reportedly deported from the islands after the Soviet annexation. During the visit, Putin reportedly sampled local fish roe and spoke with residents, according to Russian state media. The visit marked a significant development in the longstanding dispute and prompted an immediate diplomatic response from Tokyo.
Relations between Japan and Russia have already deteriorated following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Japan has imposed sanctions on Moscow and has repeatedly criticised Russian military activity around the disputed islands. Japan has also previously protested visits by senior Russian officials to the territories, including former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The islands remain strategically important to Russia, which has strengthened its military presence there over the past decade. Iturup hosts Russia’s main military air base in the region. The area has also become increasingly important in wider regional military activity. Last month, Chinese and Russian naval vessels sailed through a strait in the Kuril islands during a joint patrol.
Russia regularly conducts military exercises near the disputed islands, actions that Japan has repeatedly condemned. Putin’s latest visit is therefore likely to further complicate efforts to resolve the territorial dispute and improve relations between the two countries.
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