Putin’s Iturup Visit Reopens Russia–Japan’s Unfinished World War II Dispute
Russia is summoning Japan’s ambassador after Tokyo protested Putin’s visit to Iturup/Etorofu, one of the disputed southern Kuril Islands. The confrontation revives a territorial dispute that has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a formal World War II peace treaty.
Russia is summoning Japan’s ambassador as Moscow and Tokyo exchange protests over Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iturup, the island Japan calls Etorofu.
Iturup is one of four southern islands controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan.
The Soviet Union seized the chain in the final days of World War II. Japan argues the four southern islands are its Northern Territories and should be returned.
The unresolved dispute is one reason the two countries never signed a formal peace treaty ending their World War II state of war.
Putin’s visit therefore carried symbolism far beyond a normal domestic trip.
Reuters and AP report it was his first visit to the disputed island chain. He toured a school, hospital and fish-processing facilities, visibly demonstrating Moscow’s claim that the islands are ordinary Russian territory.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the visit unacceptable and said it hurt the feelings of the Japanese people.
Russia responded with anger of its own.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected Tokyo’s protest. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Japanese ambassador would be called to the ministry and briefed on Russia’s position.
The rhetoric reflects two incompatible historical narratives.
Russia says the Kuril Islands became Soviet territory as a legitimate result of World War II and that Russian sovereignty is not negotiable.
Japan argues the four southern islands were not part of the Kurils it renounced after the war and were seized unlawfully.
For decades, governments attempted to separate the dispute from broader economic cooperation.
That became much harder after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Japan joined Western sanctions. Moscow suspended peace-treaty talks and became far more hostile toward Tokyo.
Russia’s growing partnership with China adds another layer.
Moscow and Beijing increasingly coordinate historical narratives around World War II, accusing Japan of militarism and revisionism. Japan sees Russia and China as growing security threats and has expanded defence spending and cooperation with the United States.
The islands themselves have strategic value.
They sit between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific. Russia considers the region important for naval operations, including access routes used by strategic submarines.
Japan sees Russian militarisation close to Hokkaido as a security concern.
This makes compromise harder than a simple land-for-economic-cooperation formula.
Even if Putin wanted a deal, Russian military planners would resist giving up strategically located territory. Even if a Japanese government wanted pragmatic ties, abandoning the territorial claim would be politically toxic.
The ambassador summons is therefore mostly diplomatic signalling.
Japan protests to maintain its legal and political claim. Russia summons the ambassador to demonstrate the claim is unacceptable.
Neither side expects the meeting itself to resolve anything.
The larger significance is that a dispute once managed quietly is becoming another visible fault line in the emerging Russia-China versus U.S.-Japan security competition in Asia.
The open question is whether the islands remain a frozen postwar dispute for another generation—or become increasingly militarised as Russia and Japan treat each other less like difficult neighbours and more like members of opposing strategic blocs.