First visit ever – Putin visits disputed Kuril Islands – Japan protests

• Russian head of state Vladimir Putin has visited the Far Eastern Kuril Islands for the first time ever.
• On the island of Iturup, which is called Etorofu in Japan, Putin visited a fish factory, a hospital, and a school.
• The Kuril Islands are claimed by both Russia and Japan.

The Japanese government has lodged a "strong protest" against the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the disputed Kuril Islands. A part of the island group, the so-called "Northern Territories," is "inherent Japanese territory."

This was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo. Russian state media had previously reported that Putin had visited the island of Iturup, which is called Etorofu in Japan, for the first time on Thursday. According to the Kremlin, he visited a fish factory, a hospital, and a school there. The island belongs to the four southernmost Kuril Islands, which are claimed by both Russia and Japan. They are currently under Russian administration.

The territorial dispute over the islands has strained relations between Tokyo and Moscow for decades. The Kuril Islands are a fish-rich island group in the Pacific that the Soviet Union conquered from Japan at the end of the Second World War. However, both sides have been arguing ever since over the ownership of the four southernmost Kuril Islands, which is why there is still no peace treaty to this day.

The strategically located Kuril Islands are partly situated only a few kilometers from the Japanese island of Hokkaido and are of military importance to Russia.