Putin visits disputed Kuril island of Iturup, triggering diplomatic crisis with Japan

Putin's Iturup visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Iturup, the largest of the four disputed southern Kuril islands, on August 13, 2026. The Kremlin published video of Putin visiting a fish processing plant where he was offered caviar, inspecting a military vessel, and touring a school. The visit came a day after Putin stopped on the nearby Russian island of Sakhalin, where the Navy was conducting maneuvers and where he chaired a meeting on "guaranteeing the security of Russia's eastern borders" according to RIA Novosti. Putin, 73, was touring the region ahead of September parliamentary elections, accompanied by Sakhalin governor Valery Limarenko, who had told him about the imminent arrival of giant tuna off the coasts of Sakhalin and the Kuriles.

It was the first visit by a Russian president to the territory since Dmitry Medvedev went there in 2010 as the first Russian leader to do so, a trip that also provoked Japan's anger.

Japan and US push back

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told journalists that the Northern Territories, as Japan calls the islands, are "an inherent part of Japanese territory, both from the historical point of view and according to international law."

The visit offends the sentiments of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable, and makes the restoration of relations in the medium and long term even more difficult.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned Russian ambassador Nikolai Nozdrev to deliver a vigorous protest, telling him the visit would have an "extremely negative impact" on bilateral relations, already strained by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The United States also weighed in, with a US diplomat stating that Washington and Tokyo work together to promote prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and "firmly oppose any action likely to compromise peace and stability in the region."

Russia dismisses criticism

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the criticism as "unfounded" and accused Tokyo of "revisionism" and "absurd claims against Russia."

We categorically reject these declarations, which we consider politically irrelevant, offensive and, naturally, legally unfounded.

Former president Dmitry Medvedev, now vice president of the Security Council, struck a sharper tone on social media, saying the Kuril Islands "have been, are and will remain Russian territory" and that Takaichi "can blather as much as she wants." Ambassador Nozdrev, interviewed by RIA Novosti, framed the dispute in broader terms, saying Tokyo "is taking actions that threaten Russia's national security by participating in Western efforts to provide assistance to Ukraine." Putin himself called Japan's sanctions "unjustified" on the eve of the visit.

Historical and strategic backdrop

The four islands were seized by the Soviet army in 1945 in the final days of the Second World War. Japan invokes an 1855 treaty that fixed the border just beyond the disputed islands, while Russia points to the February 1945 Yalta conference, where the Allies agreed the Kuriles would be ceded to the USSR in exchange for its entry into the war against Japan. The dispute has prevented the two countries from concluding a formal peace treaty.

Roughly 20,000 Russian citizens live in the Kuriles, an archipelago with a harsh climate but deposits of gold and silver, rich fishing zones, and strategic importance dating to the Cold War. Japan and Russia fought a war from 1904 to 1905. Bilateral relations have deteriorated since the large-scale conflict in Ukraine began in 2022, with Japan joining G7 sanctions and providing non-lethal military and economic aid to Kyiv.