Tokyo [Japan], August 13 : Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday sternly criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup Island in the disputed Northern Territories, warning that the "absolutely unacceptable" move severely damages bilateral ties and deepens anti-Russian sentiment within Japan.
Earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Ituruo, known in Japan as Etorofu Island, in his first trip to one of the four islands in the Russian-held, Japanese-claimed Kuril island chain, as per Russia's official TASS news agency.
Takaichi addressing an informal press conference at the official residence following reports of the visit, highlighted that Tokyo had repeatedly urged Moscow to refrain from high-level presidential visits to the region ever since President Putin indicated his intention to visit in January 2024.
"I strongly protest today's visit to Iturup Island by President Putin. The Northern Territories are inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law, and this visit to Iturup Island by Russia's incumbent president is incompatible with Japan's consistent position on the Northern Territories," Takaichi said in a post on X.
"Moreover, it wounds the feelings of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable," the Japanese Prime Minister said.
The Kuril Islands dispute- known in Japan as the Northern Territories conflict- is a long-standing territorial disagreement over four southernmost islands (Iturup/Etorofu, Kunashir/Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai islets) located between Japan's Hokkaido and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
Historically recognized as Japanese territory under the 1855 Treaty of Shimoda, the islands were occupied by Soviet troops in August 1945 during the final days of World War II, leading to the expulsion of roughly 17,000 Japanese residents.
Moscow maintains that its sovereignty was established through post-war Allied agreements, including the Yalta Conference, whereas Tokyo argues these four islands are an inherent, non-ceded part of Japan and were never intended to be renounced under the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty.
The report by Japanese official agency detailed that Japan maintains that the Northern Territories, consisting of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group, were illegally seized by the Soviet Union soon after Japan's surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945. Russia, which calls them the Southern Kurils, argues the seizure was legitimate.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has lasted nearly four-and-a-half years. Putin's move appears aimed at showing observers at home and abroad that Moscow will not make territorial concessions including to Japan, which has called for the return of the disputed islands.
The territorial dispute has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty after World War II.
Prospects are dim for restarting talks on signing the treaty, with little sign of improvement in bilateral ties after Japan joined the United States and other countries in imposing sanctions to hit Moscow's war chest in the wake of the start of the invasion in 2022.
"Even amid the harsh state of Japan-Russia relations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Japan has made every possible effort, but this visit can only be said to have further hardened anti-Russia sentiment within Japan and made medium- to long-term recovery of relations more difficult. I hope that the Russian side will take the gravity of this matter very seriously," Takaichi said.
Meanwhile, Russia's official media TASS reported that as per video footage from the Kremlin press service, Putin visited the Yasny fish processing plant in Iturup.