President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the disputed Kuril Islands on Aug. 13, prompting Japan’s prime minister to call the trip “absolutely unacceptable” and to summon the Russian ambassador. The trip, which included a stop at a hospital on Etorofu and a tour of a caviar plant, raises the risk of further diplomatic friction as the islands remain a key obstacle to a formal peace treaty between the two nations.
Japan’s foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned Russian envoy Nikolay Nozdrev on the same day, while Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated that the Northern Territories are “historically and under international law” Japanese. Putin also travelled to nearby Sakhalin for navy drills and declared the four islands recognised as Russian in official documents. Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected Japan’s remarks as “politically inappropriate” and “legally unfounded.”
The diplomatic clash adds pressure to an already strained Japan‑Russia relationship, where Tokyo has imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and entities for the Ukraine war and Moscow has labeled Tokyo’s stance an “anti‑Russia policy.” The dispute over the islands, which host about 20,000 Russian residents and were home to 17,000 Japanese before 1945, continues to block a formal peace treaty and could affect bilateral trade and security cooperation.
Japan maintains the islands are Japanese territory under international law, while Russia argues the post‑World War II transfer to the Soviet Union was legal under Allied agreements and the UN charter, asserting its sovereignty “is no longer in doubt.” The two sides therefore present mutually exclusive legal narratives with no resolution in sight.