Japan protests Putin's Kuril Islands visit, former president Medvedev calls them "Russian land" and threatens consequences

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has criticised Russian leader Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup, the largest of the disputed Kuril Islands. In response, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, called the islands "Russian land" and threatened anyone who disagreed with "monstrous consequences".

Source: BBC; Reuters; Medvedev on X (Twitter)

Details: The BBC reported that Takaichi has condemned Putin's first-ever visit to the disputed Kuril Islands in a televised address, describing it as "absolutely unacceptable" and saying it "wounds the feelings of the Japanese people".

Takaichi said the archipelago belonged to Japan both historically and under international law, adding that Putin's visit has further worsened Japanese public sentiment towards Russia. "I hope that the Russian side will take the gravity of this matter very seriously," Takaichi said.

In response to the Japanese outcry, Medvedev wrote: "Japan's PM Takaichi can prattle on all she likes about the Kuril Islands being 'historically Japanese', but this chatter won't change a thing. They were, are, and will remain Russian land. Anyone who fails to understand this will face the monstrous consequences of their delusion."

Reuters notes that Moscow and Tokyo have never signed a formal peace treaty ending World War II because of their unresolved dispute over the sovereignty of Iturup and the three other southernmost Kuril Islands in the north-western Pacific.

The Kuril Islands belonged to Japan until 1945 but are now controlled by Russia. Japan claims the four southernmost islands and has long demanded their return. The BBC notes that the Soviet Union annexed the island chain at the end of World War II and deported around 17,000 Japanese residents.

In 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree recognising the Kuril Islands as Japanese territory temporarily occupied by Russia.

Background:

• On Thursday 13 August, Putin travelled to Sakhalin Oblast, where the Kuril Islands are located, to observe the final stage of exercises involving Russia's Pacific Fleet. He also visited Iturup during the trip.
• During his visit to Sakhalin, Putin spoke of the threats to Russia in this region: "Japan has claims against Russia regarding the Kuril Islands, although they are enshrined as belonging to Russia in international documents as realities following World War II," he stated.
• He also noted that Japan has imposed sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine but claimed that Russia "does not threaten Japan" and that "Moscow has no issues with Tokyo".
• In 2022, Japan, for the first time in two decades, declared the Southern Kuril Islands illegally occupied by Russia and an inherent part of its sovereign territory.

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