Vladimir Putin may visit disputed islands off Japan’s Hokkaido

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday pledged to visit a chain of islands in Russia’s Far East region, including those disputed by Japan, further complicating the strained ties between both countries amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

At a town hall meeting in the Khabarovsk region that was broadcast on state television, Putin said he would make a trip to the Kuril Islands, though he did not say when.

Russia contends that the chain of islands includes four that are claimed by Japan. The four are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.

Tokyo maintains that the Soviet Union illegally seized the four — Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group — soon after its surrender in World War II on Aug. 15, 1945, while Moscow says they came under its control legitimately.

At the meeting, Putin said, in response to a question from a Kunashiri resident who works in the travel industry, that it was the “right direction” to develop tourism in the Kuril Islands.

“I have heard that (the Kuril Islands) are interesting sites, but unfortunately, I have never been there, so I will definitely go,” Putin added.

The Japanese government has protested against senior Russian officials’ repeated visits to the disputed islands, including those by then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in November 2010 and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in July 2021.

In the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan renounced all claims to the northern part of the Kuril Islands. The long-standing territorial dispute has hampered progress in peace treaty talks between Japan and Russia.

Bilateral negotiations on the territorial dispute and the peace treaty have been suspended since Tokyo imposed economic sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.