Japan protests Russia missile tests off Kuril Islands
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- Japan lodged a diplomatic protest on August 21, 2026 against Russia's notification of missile tests off the Kuril Islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories and which were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945 with the Japanese population expelled.
- Russia's Pacific Fleet announced on August 20, 2026 that it had already carried out the missile strike during planned exercises, with targets simulating enemy ships located more than 300 kilometers off the coast of the Southern Kuril Islands.
- Vladimir Putin visited the disputed islands earlier this month, preceding Russia's missile test notification and intensifying the territorial signaling.
- Japan-Russia ties have worsened since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Japan joining other G7 nations in sanctioning Moscow and aiding Kyiv, leaving bilateral channels already strained before the missile test dispute.
Why it matters: The missile test, conducted days after Putin's visit to the islands and confirmed before Japan's protest could be registered, adds a military dimension to a territorial dispute dating to 1945. With Japan already sanctioning Moscow over Ukraine, Tokyo now faces the added friction of Russian weapons testing within reach of islands it still claims as sovereign territory.
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