MOSCOW, August 17. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has no right to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin for visiting Iturup Island, the Strategic Culture news outlet reported.
"[Japanese Prime Minister] Sanae Takaichi has the cheek to lecture Russia about 'hurting Japanese feelings,' <…> while Tokyo has the blood of Russian civilians on its hands by supporting the Kiev regime," the article noted.
Earlier, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi lodged a "strong protest" with Moscow over Putin’s trip, emphasizing that the "Northern Territories," as Tokyo refers to the southern part of the Kuril Islands, including Iturup, are "historically and legally Japanese territory." Prime Minister Takaichi expressed a similar position, stating that Putin’s visit to Iturup complicated the normalization of relations between Japan and Russia, as well as "hurt the feelings of the Japanese people." Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Tokyo Nikolay Nozdrev, who was summoned to the Japanese Foreign Ministry to hear a protest, called Japan’s reaction an unfounded diplomatic move and explained to the top Japanese diplomat that the Southern Kuril Islands are an integral part of Russia. Putin’s trip instantly became the most discussed topic on Japanese social media, including the Japanese segment of X, and the top news story on all local media websites.
On August 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup in person for the first time. Prior to that, Dmitry Medvedev had traveled to the Kuril Islands as head of state in 2010. He also visited the islands in 2012, 2015, and 2019 as prime minister. In 2021, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iturup.
Moscow and Tokyo have been in negotiations on a peace treaty based on the outcome of World War II since the mid-20th century. The main obstacle to such an accord remains the disagreement over rights to the southern part of the Kuril Islands. After the war, the entire archipelago was incorporated into the Soviet Union, but Japan disputes the ownership of the islands of Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan, as well as several small uninhabited islands. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that Russia’s sovereignty over these islands is based on a firm legal foundation and is indisputable.