Putin Visits Kuril Islands, Defying Japan
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- Putin visited the islands known in Russia as the southern Kuril Islands and in Japan as the Northern Territories for the first time on Thursday, coinciding with large-scale Russian military exercises in the neighboring seas.
- Putin used the visit to protest Japan's ongoing sanctions over the Ukraine invasion, declaring a day earlier that Russia's claim to the islands was a "reality" enshrined in international documents.
- Putin stated that Russia has "absolutely no claims" against Japan and accused Tokyo of having territorial claims against Russia, framing the dispute as Japan's provocation.
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi condemned the visit as "absolutely unacceptable," said it "hurts the feelings of the Japanese people," and announced that Japan's foreign ministry summoned Russia's ambassador to protest.
- Takaichi, a defense hawk elected last year, has pushed forward Japan's largest postwar defense buildup and sought closer ties with the United States, making her a frequent target of Moscow's criticism.
- Japan described the islands as "an inherent part of Japan's territory, both historically and under international law" and had repeatedly warned Russian leaders to stay away.
Why it matters: Putin's first-ever visit to the Kuril Islands combines a symbolic territorial provocation with concurrent naval exercises, deliberately targeting Takaichi — the Japanese leader most aligned with Washington and most aggressive on defense. Japan's formal summoning of Russia's ambassador marks a fresh low in already strained ties and signals that the territorial dispute, long frozen, is being deliberately reopened by Moscow.
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