Japanese authorities have strongly condemned Vladimir Putin's visit to the Kuril Islands, a disputed archipelago claimed by both Russia and Japan and at the centre of a decades-long territorial dispute.
According to Russian state media, the Russian president travelled to the islands for the first time, visiting the archipelago amid continued disagreement between Moscow and Tokyo over sovereignty.
During the visit, Putin inspected the Varyag, the flagship of Russia's Pacific Fleet, before travelling from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Sakhalin Island to Iturup, where he toured a seafood-processing facility.
Japan's response
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tokyo had "strongly protested" the visit.
In a statement, he described the islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, as an integral part of Japan "historically and under international law."
The archipelago stretches between Hokkaido and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
Long-running territorial dispute
Putin's trip to Iturup carries particular symbolic significance because it marks the first time the Russian leader has personally visited the disputed islands.
Japan claims four islands in the southern Kuril chain:
- Iturup
- Kunashir
- Shikotan
- The Habomai islets
Russia has administered the islands since the end of the Second World War, when the Soviet Union took control of the territory.
Tokyo argues that the four disputed islands were not included among the territories Japan renounced after the war, while Moscow maintains that Russian sovereignty was established through post-war international agreements.
Obstacle to a peace treaty
The territorial dispute remains the principal barrier preventing Russia and Japan from signing a formal peace treaty more than eight decades after World War II.
Although diplomatic relations between the two countries were restored long ago, the issue of sovereignty over the islands has remained unresolved.
Putin's visit comes as Moscow continues to insist on Russian control over the territory.
