Japan protests Putin's first visit to disputed islands

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday for the first time visited the Kuril Islands, a Russian-controlled Pacific island chain also claimed by Japan, in a move that drew a protest from Tokyo.

Putin visited a fish plant, a hospital and a school on Iturup, one of the chain's southernmost islands. He also briefly spoke to local residents and met with the governor of Russia's Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko.

Japan asserts territorial rights to the four southernmost islands of the chain, which it calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took them from Japan in the final days of World War II, and the dispute kept the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

Decades of diplomatic efforts to negotiate a settlement haven't produced any visible results. Moscow over the years has also beefed up its military presence on the Kuril Islands in moves that appeared to underscore its firm stance in the dispute.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said his country "strongly protests" against Putin's visit to Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu. "The Northern Territories, including Etorofu (Iturup) Island, are Japan's inherent territory both historically and from the perspective of international law," Motegi said in a statement.

Japan also protested in 2021 when Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iturup.

Putin in recent days has visited several regions in Russia's Siberia and the Far East. Before coming to Iturup, the Russian president stopped on Sakhalin Island to attend the final part of the drills by Russia's Pacific Fleet.