Putin visits Iturup Island, which was seized from Japan, for the first time
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island in the Kuril Islands—which is the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia and Japan—for the first time. Tokyo has already responded to the Russian leader’s trip and lodged a strong protest with Moscow.
During his stay on the island, Putin visited the “Yasny” fish processing plant.
There, he was shown the plant’s products, including tuna and halibut.
Video footage of the trip was released by the Kremlin press service.
After visiting the plant, the Russian dictator traveled to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, where he spoke with local residents.
The Japanese government strongly condemned the Russian president’s trip to the disputed territory.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi emphasized that Tokyo considers Iturup and the other Northern Territories to be an integral part of Japan.
“The Northern Territories, including Etorofu, are an integral part of Japan’s territory both from a historical perspective and under international law. Japan strongly protests this visit,” Motegi stated.
The Southern Kuril Islands are under Russian control, but Japan refers to them as the Northern Territories and asserts its claims to Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai Islands.
The territorial dispute remains one of the main reasons why Russia and Japan have yet to conclude a peace treaty following World War II.
Moscow insists that its sovereignty over the islands is enshrined in international documents and is not subject to revision.
Moscow suspended negotiations on a peace treaty in 2022 after Japan joined sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This is according to Russian media reports.
Prior to this, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin arrived on Sakhalin, where he observed the final stage of exercises by the Russian Pacific Fleet. During his stay in the region, he claimed that threats to Russia in the Asia-Pacific region were allegedly on the rise and issued new threats against Western countries.
