Japan protests after Putin visits disputed Kuril island
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, one of four Kuril islands claimed by both Russia and Japan, prompting Tokyo to lodge a strong protest.
Russian state media reported on Thursday that President Vladimir Putin travelled to Iturup, known in Japan as Etorofu, one of four islands in the Kuril chain claimed by both Russia and Japan.
Japan's foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, said the islands belong to Japan both historically and under international law, and that Tokyo strongly protests the visit.
A decades-old dispute
The two countries have disagreed over ownership of the Kuril islands for decades, a disagreement that is the main reason Moscow and Tokyo never signed a peace treaty after World War Two.
The islands lie between Japan's northern island of Hokkaido and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The four southernmost islands, referred to by Japan as the Northern Territories, are currently administered by Russia. The Soviet Union annexed the chain at the end of World War Two and deported around 17,000 Japanese residents from it.
Putin's visit
During Thursday's trip, Putin sampled fish roe and spoke with local residents, according to Russian state media.
The islands hold significant strategic value for Russia's military, with Iturup serving as its main military air base in the region. Last month, Chinese and Russian naval vessels sailed through a strait near the Kuril islands during a joint patrol, and Russia held military exercises near the islands last year that drew condemnation from Japan.
