Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kuril Islands for the first time on Thursday, August 13, 2026, traveling to Iturup—known in Japan as Etorofu—one of four islands in the disputed chain that both nations claim. The visit prompted an immediate and sharp protest from Tokyo, which calls the territory its “Northern Territories.”
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called Putin’s visit “absolutely unacceptable” and said it “wounds the feelings of the Japanese people,” according to the BBC. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi issued a formal statement asserting that the islands are “an inherent part of Japan’s territory both historically and under international law,” and that the government “strongly protests this visit.”
The Kuril Islands sit between Japan’s northernmost Hokkaido island and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, forming a volcanic archipelago of strategic military significance. The islands have been under Russian administration since the Soviet Union seized them in the final days of World War II in 1945, deporting approximately 17,000 Japanese residents in the process. The territorial dispute has remained unresolved for over 80 years and stands as the primary barrier preventing Russia and Japan from signing a formal peace treaty.
During his visit, Putin toured a fish-processing plant on Iturup where he sampled caviar, and met with local residents, according to Russian state media. The Kremlin also reported that Putin held a meeting “on ensuring the security of Russia’s eastern borders” while on the nearby island of Sakhalin, where Russian naval drills were underway.
Putin’s visit marks the first time a sitting Russian president has traveled to the disputed islands. Former President Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to visit the territory in 2010, when he traveled to Kunashir—another island in the chain—prompting Japan to temporarily recall its Moscow ambassador at that time. Medvedev made subsequent visits as prime minister, and those trips similarly drew Japanese protests.
The Kuril Islands hold substantial military value for Russia. According to the BBC, the islands provide air and sea bases critical to Russia’s Pacific operations, with Iturup serving as Russia’s primary military air base in the region. The archipelago is strategically positioned at the gateway to Russia’s Pacific Fleet and the Sea of Okhotsk, controlling vital shipping corridors between Russia and the wider Pacific Ocean. Over the past decade, Russia has significantly expanded its military presence on the islands, conducting regular military drills that have repeatedly drawn condemnation from Japan.
Bilateral tensions have intensified since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Japan imposed sanctions on Russia in response and has grown closer to the United States and its allies in the Pacific. In June 2025, Russia suspended peace treaty negotiations with Japan, citing Tokyo’s anti-Russian stance. Last month, Chinese and Russian naval warships conducted joint patrols through straits in the Kuril Islands, underscoring Moscow’s deepening strategic alignment with Beijing at a time when its relations with Tokyo have deteriorated further.
Attempts to resolve the territorial dispute through negotiations have made little progress since diplomatic relations were re-established in 1956. That year, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev suggested that two of the disputed islands might be returned as part of a peace treaty, but no such agreement materialized. Talks have resumed periodically since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, but remain deadlocked over Japan’s insistence that its sovereignty over all four islands be recognized before any peace treaty can be signed.
Sources
- BBC — Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi’s statement calling Putin’s visit “absolutely unacceptable” and the islands’ strategic military role for Russia
- France 24 — Details of Putin’s visit to Iturup, the visit to Sakhalin, the 1945 Soviet seizure and deportation of Japanese residents, and the history of Medvedev’s 2010 visit
- Times of India — Confirmation of Putin’s first visit to the disputed Kuril Islands on August 13, 2026
- Reuters — Japan’s Foreign Minister Motegi’s formal protest statement
- CSIS — Strategic military significance of the Kuril Islands and Russia’s militarization of the archipelago
- The Moscow Times — Background on the 80-year dispute and Japan’s position on sovereignty recognition before peace treaty negotiations
