Putin visits a disputed island; Japan lodges protest

MOSCOW/TOKYO — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Far Eastern Kuril Island of Iturup, or Etorofu as the Japanese call it.

According to TASS news agency, Putin visited the island on Thursday after attending the final stage of the Pacific Fleet drills in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

Putin visited the Yasny fish-packing factory on the island, said the TASS report.

Vesti TV channel images showed Putin in a dark suit, beside two large tuna and a halibut laid out on a table, as two officials spoke about fishing and the migratory behavior of fish. He also stopped to try local fish roe.

"What lovely weather you have there, just like a resort!" Putin told a group of locals.

Russia and Japan are involved in a territorial row over Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu, and the other three islands off Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido. The four islands that are under Russia's control are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.

Japan said on Thursday it "strongly protests" against Putin's visit to the disputed island.

In a statement on social media X, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said, "The Government of Japan strongly protests this visit."

Motegi summoned the Russian ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev on Thursday. Motegi told the ambassador in the meeting that Putin's visit would "have an extremely negative impact on Japan-Russia relations", according to the ministry's statement.

The visit is "unacceptable", Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters on Thursday, adding that it "made it more difficult to restore relations in the medium to long term".

Putin in recent days has visited several regions in Russia's Siberia and the Far East. Before coming to the disputed island, the Russian president stopped on Sakhalin Island to attend the final part of the drills by Russia's Pacific Fleet.

Speaking aboard a warship that was taking part in the naval exercises, Putin said on Wednesday that the current status of the islands "is enshrined in international documents as a reality that arose following the outcome of the World War II".

"But even here, Russia was prepared to seek a solution with the goal of concluding a peace treaty with Japan," he said.

XINHUA-AGENCIES