Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made a provocative visit to the far-eastern Kuril islands for the first time ever. Japan immediately lodged a "strong" protest given it also has long claimed the territory, resulting in an avalanche of denunciatory headlines in Japanese press.
Putin held a meeting there "on ensuring the security of Russia's eastern borders," state RIA Novosti said. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi shot back: "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."
More importantly, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi blasted the trip by Putin as "absolutely unacceptable" and stated it "hurts the feelings of the Japanese people."
Japan deems the island chain its own Northern Territories since World War II, during which time they were seized by the Soviet Union, in 1945. Japan's claim on the territory ultimately stretches all the way back to the 17th century, the country's officials maintain.
Another provocation was that Putin oversaw Russian naval exercises while on the island of Sakhalin. He also visited a fish-processing plant in Iturup, the largest of the Kuril Islands, where he was given caviar, Kremlin-published videos showed. The Russian military has had a presence on the islands going all the way back to WW2.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvdev had actually been the first Russian leader to have stepped foot on the islands back in 2010.
Medvedev has chimed in aggressively, in response to the Japanese prime minister's statement. "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," he said on X.
"Anyone who fails to understand this will face the monstrous consequences of their delusion," Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, added.
Meanwhile, the NY Times points out that this highly symbolic move by Putin is fundamentally in protest of Japan's stance on Ukraine, which has worsened relations between Tokyo and Moscow:
Mr. Putin used the visit to reassert Russia’s territorial claims and to protest Japan’s ongoing sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. A day before the visit, he said that Russia’s claim to the islands was a "reality" that had been "enshrined in international documents."
"We are not threatening Japan. We have absolutely no claims against it," Mr. Putin said. "On the contrary, Japan has territorial claims against our country."
Just ahead of the visit, Putin had said: "Japan, our neighboring country, has used the events in Ukraine as a pretext, without examining the causes of the conflict, to pursue an unprovoked policy against Russia."
Takaichi for her part, has warned Russian leaders to stay away from the islands - but clearly to no avail. Instead, Putin kind of rubbed it in... "Look at this great weather, it’s like a resort!" Putin said said in video footage, to which a local woman responded that the climate is usually windy and foggy. "The weather is smiling on you," she said.