Russian President Vladimir Putin drew protests in Japan on Thursday after he made his first trip to the Kuril Islands, a disputed island chain seized by the Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II.
Both Moscow and Tokyo view the four southernmost islands in the chain as their rightful territory, with Russia calling them the southern Kuril Islands and Japan calling them the Northern Territories.
Putin’s trip came as Russia’s Pacific Fleet held military exercises aimed at ensuring readiness in the Asia-Pacific region, which he said was “unfortunately becoming increasingly prone to conflict.”
On his trip, Putin visited the Yasny fish processing complex, toured a hospital and spoke with students at the Hero of Russia Eduard Norpolov Secondary General School.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi voiced her “strong protest” over Putin’s visit to the islands, which she called “inherently Japanese territory.”
The visit “wounds the feelings” of the Japanese people and serves to further harden anti-Russian sentiment in Japan, she said, adding that it made a long-term recovery of bilateral relations, strained after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, more difficult.
While attending military drills aboard a missile cruiser on Wednesday, Putin raised the issue of Japanese-Russian relations, saying Moscow had “made great efforts” to bring the two countries’ positions closer.
“But now, unfortunately, we can see some changes in our neighbor’s position,” Putin said. He blamed Japan for the territorial dispute, saying Russia has “not threatened Japan in any way. We do not have any claims.”
Japan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador to Tokyo, Nikolay Nozdrev, for a meeting, during which the envoy underscored his belief that the islands are a part of Russia, Russian state news agency Tass reported.
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