Putin’s Kuril Islands Visit Escalates Russia-Japan Territorial Tensions

Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first official visit to the disputed Kuril Islands on Thursday, drawing immediate protest from Japan and further straining already delicate bilateral ties. The visit, the first by a Russian leader to the island chain since 2010, was seen in Tokyo as a deliberate provocation.

The Kuril Islands are a volcanic archipelago stretching about 1,200 km across the North Pacific Ocean, consisting of 56 islands and numerous smaller islets. The chain lies between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, near Japan’s northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido. Japan claims four of these islands – Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai islets – which it calls the 'Northern Territories.' Russia administers the entire chain as part of the Sakhalin region.

The sovereignty dispute dates back to the end of the Second World War, when Soviet forces seized the islands and expelled Japanese residents. Japan bases its claim on treaties from the 19th century, including the Shimoda Treaty of 1855 and the Treaty of St. Petersburg of 1875. Russia counters by citing the Yalta Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration, as well as the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951, in which Japan renounced its claims to the Kuril Islands. Japan, however, argues that the San Francisco treaty is invalid because the Soviet Union refused to sign it, and that the four disputed islands are not part of the Kuril chain.

Because no peace treaty was ever concluded after World War II, Japan and Russia technically remain in a state of war. In 1956, the two sides agreed in principle to return two of the islands, but no formal settlement was reached. It was not until 1991 that the Soviet Union acknowledged the existence of a territorial dispute.

Mr. Putin’s visit focused on Iturup, the largest and most strategically important of the four islands claimed by Japan. He toured a fish-processing plant, a hospital, and a school, and spoke with residents. He also met with Valery Limarenko, governor of Russia’s Sakhalin region. Speaking aboard a warship participating in naval exercises in the region, Mr. Putin said that the islands’ current status 'is enshrined in international documents as a reality that arose following the outcome of the Second World War.' He added that Russia was nevertheless prepared to seek a solution with the goal of concluding a peace treaty with Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday protested the visit, reiterating Tokyo’s longstanding position that the four islands are 'illegally occupied' by Russia. The visit came two days before Japan’s commemoration of the 81st anniversary of its surrender in World War II, and one day after North Korea launched a missile into the sea between the two countries – a move that coincided with joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington.

Analysts note that the timing of Mr. Putin’s trip signals Moscow’s unwillingness to compromise on the territorial issue, even as Russia faces diplomatic isolation over its actions in Ukraine. For Japan, the visit reinforces the difficulty of pursuing a resolution to the dispute, which has remained unresolved for nearly eight decades.

The Kuril Islands dispute remains a fundamental obstacle to a formal peace treaty between the two countries. Despite occasional dialogue and proposals for joint economic activity on the islands, no breakthrough has been achieved. Thursday’s visit is likely to further harden positions on both sides, raising the prospect of continued diplomatic friction in the Asia-Pacific region.