Japan protests Putin visit to disputed islands
The Russian leader visited the Kuril islands for the first time, according to state media.
Japan has voiced its "strong protest" regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to a contested island, an event Russian state media reported on Thursday as his inaugural trip to the Kuril Islands.
The Kuril Islands are a subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, in a statement posted on X, asserted that the islands are "inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law." He added that "the Government of Japan strongly protests this visit."
This decades-old dispute over the Kuril Islands has been the primary obstacle preventing Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty following World War Two.
The specific island Putin visited on Thursday is referred to as Iturup by Russia and Etorofu by Japan.