00:00A fresh diplomatic storm has erupted between Moscow and Tokyo.
00:06Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a highly controversial visit to Iterup, an
00:12island controlled by Russia but claimed by Japan.
00:16And Japan is furious.
00:19Tokyo has formally protested Putin's visit, summoned Russia's ambassador, and once again
00:25declared that the disputed island is Japanese territory.
00:28For Japan, this is not simply a presidential tour.
00:33It is a direct challenge to one of the country's longest-running territorial disputes.
00:43Putin visited Iterup on August 13th as part of a broader tour of Russia's Far East.
00:49The island is known as Eterofu in Japan and is the largest of the four southernmost curl
00:55islands at the center of the dispute.
00:57During his visit, Putin toured a fish processing plant, sampled local fish roe, visited a hospital
01:04and a school, and met residents.
01:07He also met Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko.
01:11Russian state media presented the trip as routine engagement with territory under Moscow's administration.
01:17But in Tokyo, the message was very different.
01:25Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi issued a strong statement condemning the visit.
01:32Tokyo says the northern territories, including Eterofu, are Japanese inherent territory, both
01:38historically and under international law.
01:42Japan therefore described Putin's presence on the island as unacceptable and formally lodged a protest with Moscow.
01:49Prime Minister Sinei Takeichi also condemned the trip, saying Putin's visit was absolutely unacceptable and offended the sentiments of the
01:59Japanese people.
02:00The Japanese government has made clear that it does not recognize Russia's sovereignty over the disputed islands.
02:11The dispute dates back to the final days of World War II.
02:15The Soviet Union seized the four southernmost curl islands as the war was ending.
02:21Japan calls these islands the Northern Territories.
02:24Russia refers to them as the Southern Curls.
02:27The four disputed areas are Itarup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and the Habomai Islets.
02:34Russia has maintained administrative control over them ever since.
02:38Japan, however, has never accepted the Soviet seizure as a legitimate resolution of the territorial question.
02:45And that disagreement has had consequences far beyond the islands themselves.
02:55The territorial dispute remains one of the major reasons Russia and Japan have never signed a formal peace treaty ending
03:02the hostilities dating back to World War II.
03:05For decades, both governments have attempted to find a compromise, but no lasting settlement has been reached.
03:12Russia has continued to strengthen its presence on the islands, including its military infrastructure.
03:17Japan has continued to insist that the Northern Territories issue must be resolved.
03:23And Putin's personal visit now appears to reinforce Moscow's position that there will be no easy territorial concessions.
03:32Putin's visit is not the first time Japan has reacted angrily to a high-level Russian visit to the disputed
03:39islands.
03:39Previous Russian officials, including then-Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in 2021,
03:44also visited the territory and triggered protests from Tokyo.
03:49But Putin's appearance carries additional weight.
03:52This is the Russian president himself visiting an island claimed by Japan.
03:57And the timing comes as relations between Moscow and Tokyo are already deeply strained.
04:07For Moscow, the trip appears designed to emphasize development and administration in Russia's Far East.
04:14For Tokyo, however, it reinforces a territorial claim Japan has refused to abandon.
04:20And that creates another obstacle to improving relations.
04:23The dispute is not simply about a remote group of islands.
04:28It is tied to national identity, history, military strategy, and the unfinished diplomatic legacy of World War II.
04:37Putin's visit to Itcherup has therefore reopened an old wound between Russia and Japan.
04:43Japan says the island is its inherent territory.
04:46Russia controls it and shows no indication of giving up its claim.
04:50And now, with Vladimir Putin personally visiting the disputed territory,
04:55Tokyo's frustration has reached another level.
04:58The protest has been formally delivered.
05:01The Russian ambassador has been summoned.
05:03But the underlying dispute remains unresolved.
05:06More than 80 years after the end of World War II,
05:09the territorial question continues to stand between Moscow and Tokyo.
05:26Subscribe to OneIndia and never miss an update.
05:30Download the OneIndia app now.
Comments