"Resort weather": Putin visits disputed islands and infuriates Japan
Vladimir Putin has visited the Kuril Islands, which are disputed between Russia and Japan, for the first time. The visit, which sparked a sharp protest in Tokyo, took place against the backdrop of Russian military exercises and a North Korean ballistic missile launch.
Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a highly publicized visit today, Thursday, to Iturup Island, located at the end of the Kuril Islands chain and a focal point of a long-standing territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo. This unusual visit, which drew sharp and immediate condemnation from Japan, takes place against a backdrop of rising regional tensions, just one day after the conclusion of extensive naval exercises by the Russian military and the launch of a ballistic missile by Moscow's ally, North Korea.
Reuters reports, citing Russia's state news agency TASS, that this is Putin's first personal visit to the disputed archipelago. Since the end of World War II, Russia and Japan have never managed to sign an official peace treaty. The main obstacle remains the historical dispute over sovereignty regarding these islands, which Japan calls the "Northern Territories," while in Russia they are considered part of the Kuril Islands. Soviet forces captured the four islands adjacent to the Japanese island of Hokkaido at the end of the war, and they have remained under Russian control ever since.
During his visit, covered extensively by Russian state television, Putin arrived at the "Yasny" fish processing plant on Iturup Island. In images broadcast on the "Vesti" channel, the Russian president is seen in a dark suit, examining large tuna and halibut placed on a table. He spoke with plant officials about the fishing industry and the migration habits of fish in the area, and even stopped to taste local fish roe.
The Russian president took the opportunity to chat with local residents.
"What wonderful weather you have here, it's just like a resort!" Putin told a group of residents. One of those present, a woman in her thirties, replied with a laugh: "And we thought you arranged it!"
The visit ignited anger in Tokyo. Japan's Foreign Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, published a sharp protest statement on the social network X.
"The Northern Territories, including Iturup (Etorofu in Japanese), are distinct Japanese territory, both historically and on the basis of international law. Japan strongly protests this visit," the minister clarified.
The Russian leader's arrival in the region comes at a sensitive time for security in East Asia. The visit was held immediately after Putin oversaw Russian naval exercises in the Far East, and a day after North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the waters off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. These steps are being taken just days before the planned opening of large-scale joint military exercises by the armies of South Korea and the United States — a move that Pyongyang traditionally condemns.
