Putin's Visit Sparks New Dispute with Japan

The Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, has stated that President Vladimir Putin's visit to the Kuril Island of Iturup is absolutely unacceptable. Kishida emphasized that Putin's visit contradicts Japan's consistent stance on the Northern Territories and offends the sentiments of the Japanese people.

He noted that since the onset of the war in Ukraine, relations between Tokyo and Moscow have been complicated, and Putin's visit could further intensify negative sentiments towards Russia in Japan, hindering the prospects for restoring relations.

Previously, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi had declared that the islands are historically and under international law Japanese territory. In light of Putin's visit, the Russian ambassador to Japan, Nikolai Nozdriev, was also summoned by Japan's Foreign Ministry.

The Russian Security Council's Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev responded harshly to Japan's statements. He wrote on his X page, "Japan's Prime Minister Kishida can talk as much as he wants about the Kuril Islands being 'historically Japanese,' but such conversations will change nothing. They have been, they are, and they will remain Russian land. Anyone who fails to understand this will face the enormous consequences of their delusion."

Vladimir Putin personally visited the Kuril Island of Iturup during a trip to the Sakhalin region.