Reuters. Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday (August 13) protested Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Iturup, a Japan-claimed island at the end of the Kuril chain near the island of Hokkaido.
Putin made his first-ever visit to the disputed island, known as “Etorofu” in Japanese, on Thursday, Russian state media reported.
Moscow and Tokyo never signed a formal World War Two peace treaty as the main hurdle was the unresolved territorial dispute over the islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories.
“This latest visit to Etorofu Island by the incumbent President of Russia runs contrary to Japan's consistent position regarding the Northern Territories. Furthermore, it hurts the feelings of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable,” Takaichi said during a statement delivered from her residence.
The visit follows Wednesday's (August 12) firing of a ballistic missile by ally North Korea, towards waters off the east of the Korean peninsula, days ahead of major joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington long denounced by Pyongyang.
