Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup — known in Japan as Etorofu — in the southern Kuril island chain on 13 August 2026, according to Russian state media, drawing an immediate and formal protest from Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who declared the islands an inherent part of Japanese territory under international law.
Putin visits disputed Kuril island, drawing Japanese government protest
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup — known in Japan as Etorofu — in the southern Kuril island chain on 13 August 2026, according to Russian state media, drawing an immediate and formal protest from Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, who declared the islands an inherent part of Japanese territory under international law.
The four islands at the centre of the territorial dispute — called the Northern Territories by Japan and the Southern Kurils by Russia — were seized by the Soviet Union in the final days of the Second World War. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan on 8 August 1945, two days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and six days before the war ended. The roughly 17,000 Japanese residents of the islands were subsequently deported.
Because the dispute was never formally resolved, Japan and Russia have never signed a peace treaty ending the war between them. According to Euronews, in 1956, when diplomatic relations were established, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev suggested two of the disputed islands might be returned under a peace treaty, but no progress has since been made.
The last Russian president to visit the islands was Dmitry Medvedev, who travelled to Kunashiri in November 2010. Both sources confirm this makes Putin's visit the first by a Russian president in 16 years. It is also the first visit by Putin himself, despite more than a quarter of a century in power, according to The Independent. Euronews adds that Medvedev subsequently visited the islands several times as prime minister.
Prior to the Kuril visit, Putin had been in the nearby Russian region of Sakhalin, where he observed a military drill of Russia's Pacific Fleet aboard the missile cruiser 'Varyag', according to The Independent. Euronews reports he also held a meeting there 'on ensuring the security of Russia's eastern borders,' citing state-run outlet RIA Novosti.
On the island, Putin toured a fish-processing plant. The Kremlin posted video of the visit, and Russian media reported he was offered caviar. The Independent adds that footage from the Vesti television channel showed him in a dark suit examining a large tuna and a halibut, and that he stopped to taste local fish roe. He also visited a hospital and a school, according to The Independent.
Approximately 20,000 Russian citizens currently live on the islands, which both sources describe as having gold and silver mineral deposits and rich fishing grounds in the north Pacific. Air and naval bases were established there during the Cold War, and Russia has maintained a military presence on the islands since the Soviet occupation.
The visit occurred a day after Russia's ally North Korea launched a ballistic missile towards waters off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, shortly before scheduled joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States that Pyongyang has long condemned, according to The Independent.
Euronews notes that Japan–Russia relations have deteriorated further since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, even as Moscow's relations with China and North Korea have warmed.
Where sources differ
- On the first Russian presidential visit to the islands: The Independent states Medvedev visited 'Kunashiri' in November 2010 and describes this as the first visit by 'a Russian president' in 16 years, while also calling it the first by Putin 'himself in more than a quarter of a century in power.' Euronews states that 'in 2010 then-president Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit the disputed territory,' implying Medvedev's 2010 visit was itself the first ever by a Russian leader — a characterisation that conflicts with The Independent's framing of a 16-year gap since Medvedev, but not a fundamental factual conflict on numbers.
- On Putin's own prior visits: The Independent says this is Putin's first visit to the islands 'in more than a quarter of a century in power,' which could imply he visited earlier in his tenure. Euronews describes it simply as Putin visiting 'for the first time,' suggesting he had never previously visited. The sources do not agree on whether Putin had visited before.
- No formal Russian government statement explaining the diplomatic rationale or timing of the visit is cited in either source.
- Neither source establishes whether the visit was pre-announced or conducted without prior notice to Tokyo.
- The sources do not report any response from China or North Korea regarding the visit.
- The sources do not detail any current state of negotiations or diplomatic contacts between Tokyo and Moscow over the islands.
- It is unclear from the sources whether Putin visited any of the other three disputed islands during this trip, or only Iturup.
- According to The Independent alone, the North Korea missile launch and forthcoming South Korea–US exercises provide surrounding regional context, but no source establishes a direct connection between those events and the timing of Putin's Kuril visit.
- The Independent — original — by Stuti Mishra
- Euronews — by Malek Fouda
Read the original at The Independent