Japanese authorities have announced plans to consider retaliatory measures against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iturup, an island group Tokyo designates as its “Northern Territories.”
The Japanese government has stated it will evaluate options that could include reinforcing existing sanctions imposed on Moscow in coordination with other nations, a move tied to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
On August 13, the Japanese Foreign Ministry issued a strong protest over Putin’s trip to Iturup, the largest island in the southern Kuril Islands group. The ministry asserted that the southern part of the Kuril Islands constitutes “ancestral Japanese territory” from both historical and legal perspectives.
The ministry also summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolai Nozdrev after the visit. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly condemned the trip, while Russian Ambassador Nozdrev maintained to Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi that the southern Kuril Islands are an integral part of Russia.
Putin’s visit to Iturup marked his first personal trip to the islands, during which he toured a fish factory and interacted with employees.
