President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s far-eastern Kuril islands for the first time on Thursday, prompting protests by Japan which also claims the territory.
It was the first visit by a Russian president since Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.
“The Northern Territories are an inherent part of Japan’s territory, both historically and under international law,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters. Putin’s visit “offends the sentiments of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable,” she said, adding that it “made it more difficult to restore relations in the medium to long term. After the visit to the Kuril Islands, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned Russian ambassador to Japan Nikolai Nozdrev to lodge a “strong protest” against Putin’s surprise move. Motegi told the ambassador in the meeting that Putin’s visit would “have an extremely negative impact on Japan-Russia relations” already complicated by Moscow’s offensive on Ukraine, according to the ministry’s statement. Russia’s embassy in Japan said the ambassador had said the islands were “an integral part of the Russian Federation,” that their “status is not subject to doubt” and that Putin’s travel there was not “a matter for discussion with foreign states”.
“The Kurils have been fortified with Bastion coastal defence missile systems and SU-35 fighter aircraft.
These provide Russia with instruments of control over sea lanes in the region, as well as leverage against Japan’s claim to the islands,” said Yee Kuang Heng, a professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Tokyo.
