Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the far-eastern Kuril Islands near Japan's Hokkaido island for the first time on Thursday, August 13, 2026. The visit sparked a strong protest from Japan, which claims the islands—known in Japan as the Northern Territories—that were seized by the Soviet Union in 1945.
The Kremlin released a video showing Putin in the Kuril Islands, where Russian media reported he visited a fish-processing plant and was given caviar. Prior to this, Putin had visited the nearby Russian island of Sakhalin, where Russia's navy was conducting drills. In Sakhalin, Putin held a meeting focused on "ensuring the security of Russia's eastern borders," according to RIA Novosti.
Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi issued a statement condemning the visit, saying, "The Northern Territories... are an inherent part of Japan's territory both historically and under international law, and the government of Japan strongly protests this visit."
The dispute over the islands has long strained Russian-Japanese relations. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945, after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and six days before the end of World War II. Following the occupation of the islands, Moscow deported approximately 17,000 Japanese residents. Although negotiations resumed after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, no progress has been made.
Ties between Japan and Russia have further deteriorated since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while Moscow's relations with China and North Korea have improved.
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