Japanese PM says Putin\u2019s visit to the Pacific island chain, seized by the Soviet Union in 1945, is \u2018unacceptable\u2019.<\/p>\n
Published On 13 Aug 202613 Aug 2026<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s President Vladimir Putin has paid his first-ever visit to a Russian-administered island chain in the Pacific that is also claimed by Japan, drawing condemnation from Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Putin visited the Kuril Islands on Thursday, meeting with the regional governor and visiting a fish-processing plant, a hospital and a school on the southernmost isle of Iturup, according to Russian state media.<\/p>\n
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Japan asserts territorial rights to the four southernmost islands of the chain, which it calls the Northern Territories. The isles were seized by the Soviet Union during the second world war and have remained a source of friction<\/a> between Moscow and Tokyo.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called Putin\u2019s visit to the territory \u201cabsolutely unacceptable\u201d, saying it \u201coffends the sentiments of the Japanese people\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis visit \u2026 by the sitting Russian president goes against Japan\u2019s consistent position on the Northern Territories,\u201d Takaichi told reporters, using the Japanese name for the islands.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also criticised Putin\u2019s visit, saying the disputed islands \u201care an inherent part of Japan\u2019s territory both historically and under international law\u201d. He later summoned the Russian ambassador to \u201cstrongly protest\u201d against Putin\u2019s visit, according to Japan\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n Putin says Russia \u2018not threatening Japan\u2019<\/p>\n