Russia's Putin angers Japan with 1st visit to Kuril Islands

Introduction

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made his first visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, a move that drew immediate anger from Japan. The visit, reported by state media on Thursday, came as Russia's Pacific fleet conducted large-scale military exercises in the region, including missile tests that Japan says it cannot tolerate.

The Visit and Japan's Response

Putin traveled to the island known as Iturup in Russian and Etorofu in Japanese, the largest in the group of four islands at the center of a decades-old territorial dispute. During his trip, he visited a fish-processing plant where he was given caviar, according to Russian media reports.

Japan's foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, expressed Tokyo's strong displeasure in a statement on Thursday. "The Northern Territories ... are an inherent part of Japan's territory both historically and under international law, and the government of Japan strongly protests this visit," the statement said.

Speaking later during a trip to Oman, Motegi said, "We cannot tolerate moves to strengthen military power on the Four Northern Islands because they go against our country's stance [on the territories]."

The visit also sparked a tit-for-tat summoning of ambassadors in Tokyo and Moscow, escalating the diplomatic fallout.

The Territorial Dispute

The four islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as part of the Kuril Islands, have been a source of friction for centuries. Territorial rows go back to the 19th century, but the modern dispute stems from the Soviet Union's seizure of the islands from Japan at the end of World War II.

Moscow deported the Japanese population of about 17,000 people, and the islands are now inhabited by some 20,000 Russian citizens. The unresolved dispute remains a key reason why Moscow and Tokyo never signed a formal World War II peace treaty.

The volcanic Kuril archipelago runs in an arc from Russia's Kamchatka peninsula down to Japan's main northern island of Hokkaido. The islands have considerable strategic importance, with the Soviet Union maintaining a large military presence there during the Cold War amid tensions with the US and Japan.

Talks on the territorial issue held since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 have so far borne no fruit. Russian-Japanese relations suffered another major blow following Moscow's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022.

Military Exercises

The visit came amid extensive military exercises by Russia's Pacific fleet. The fleet said on Thursday that it had fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, simulating an attack on enemy vessels and hitting all of its targets approximately 300km away. Officials said the drills included a nuclear-powered submarine and a guided-missile cruiser, according to reports.

The exercises began on 4 August, and Japan was informed in advance that they would include live-fire drills. Japan lodged a protest against the large-scale maneuvers on 5 August.

According to the Russian news agency Tass, the drills involved approximately 60 surface ships, submarines, and support vessels, about 30 aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems of the Pacific fleet's naval aviation, as well as over 13,000 service members.

Putin observed some of the exercises from the Varyag on 12 August as part of his trip to the disputed islands and to Sakhalin, the large undisputedly Russian island north of Hokkaido. Aboard the flagship, Putin said: "The region is unfortunately becoming increasingly prone to conflict, with Nato seeking to gain a foothold here and the emergence of new military and political blocs. There are efforts and plans to deploy new weapons systems here, which creates threats for our country."

The Russian drills are scheduled to continue through 29 August.

Historical Precedents

Putin's visit marks the first time a Russian leader has traveled to the disputed territory since Dmitry Medvedev, then president, became the first to do so in 2010. Medvedev also visited in 2015 as prime minister. The islands have been seldom visited by Russian leaders, making Putin's trip a notable escalation.