Russia Protests to Japan Over Condemnation of Putin’s Visit to Kuril Islands

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs today summoned the Japanese ambassador and lodged a protest over the official condemnation by Tokyo of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Kuril Islands.

This Pacific archipelago is controlled by Russia, but both Tokyo and Moscow claim rights to it.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin met with Japanese Ambassador Akira Muto to formally protest statements made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

“Russia’s sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands are absolutely indisputable,” Galuzin said, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Last week, Putin visited Iturup, one of the four southernmost Kuril Islands, which Japan refers to as the Northern Territories. 

The Soviet Union occupied them in the final days of World War II.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that Putin’s visit to the islands is incompatible with Japan’s position on the Northern Territories and that it is unacceptable. 

She added that the visit is an additional blow to the already strained relations between the two countries due to their positions on Ukraine and that Moscow should understand the consequences.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that Tokyo protests Putin’s visit to Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu, noting that “the Northern Territories, including Etorofu Island, are inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law.”