Vladimir Putin visited for the first time ever the constested Kuril Islands, prompting the fury of Japan. The Russian President travelled to Iturup, one of the four islands in the chain claimed by both Russia and Japan, sampling fish roe and speaking with locals.
Known in Japan as Etorofu, the island is used as Russia's primary air base in the region as it has been amping up its military presence on the islands over the past decade. Putin's visit sparked outcry from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who said it "has worsened Japanese sentiment towards Russia".
Speaking to reporters, she called the Kuril Islands "a unique territory of [Japan] historically and under international law".
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the islands were "inherently Japanese territory both historically and under international law, and the government of Japan strongly protests this visit".
The Kuril Islands are currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East, though Japan has laid claim to them for decades.
They lie between Hokkaido in northern Japan and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, and Japan claims the southernmost islands, which it calls the Northern Territories.
The native inhabitants of the Kuril Islands are the Ainu people, an indigenous ethnic group with roots tracing back to the Jōmon period of Japan.
In 2018, a regional election commission found that of the 11,347 adults living on the island chain, 96% opposed handing the islands to Japan.
Following this, Putin said that any deal to end the territorial dispute, which has prevented the two countries from signing a WWII peace treaty, would need public backing.
There have been efforts to mend the relationship over the years, but little progress has been made. In 2022, Japan imposed sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine.
