A fish processing plant tour, a caviar tasting, a stop at a local school, and warm embraces with regional officials. Vladimir Putin’s Thursday visit to Iturup Island came just hours after he observed Russian Pacific Fleet exercises on neighboring Sakhalin. On the surface, it looked like one of hundreds of routine field trips. It was not. By setting foot for the first time on one of the four southern Kuril Islands claimed by Japan, the Russian president delivered a pointed political message from the frontier between the North Pacific and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Tokyo immediately condemned the visit as “absolutely unacceptable” and summoned Russia’s ambassador, Nikolay Nozdrev. For Japanese authorities, the four islands remain an integral part of their national territory. Moscow, by contrast, insists its sovereignty over them has been settled since the end of World War II. Here is what lies behind the dispute.
When Did the Dispute Begin?
The Kuril Islands form a long chain of roughly fifty volcanic islands stretching nearly 1,200 kilometers between Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan’s Hokkaido. Swept by winds, blanketed in forests, and dominated by still-active volcanoes, they are sparsely populated—about 20,000 residents—and endure a harsh climate marked by long winters and frequent seismic activity.
While Russia administers the entire archipelago, the territorial quarrel centers solely on the four southernmost islands: Iturup (Etorofu in Japanese), Shikotan, Kunashir (Kunashiri), and the Habomai islets. The latter two lie less than 20 kilometers from Japan’s coast.
The disagreement is rooted in a series of treaties. In 1855, a first accord fixed the border between the two empires just north of the four islands now in contention. In 1875, a new treaty assigned the entire Kuril chain to Japan. But in August 1945, days after Japan’s surrender, the Soviet Union seized the whole archipelago and expelled roughly 17,000 Japanese residents.
Since then, Moscow has leaned on Allied agreements reached at Yalta, while Tokyo invokes the 1855 treaty to argue that these four islands were never part of the Kurils ceded to the USSR.
That fundamental disagreement has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty that would formally end World War II.
Why Are These Islands So Strategic?
The dispute has persisted for more than eight decades because the Kurils represent far more than a historical symbol. The archipelago controls several straits linking the Sea of Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean. For Russia, holding the islands guarantees its fleet based in Vladivostok permanent access to the Pacific while shielding the Sea of Okhotsk, where some of its submarines operate.
Over the years, Moscow has reinforced its military footprint by deploying Bastion coastal missile systems and Su-35 fighter jets. According to Professor Yee Kuang Heng of the University of Tokyo, this equipment allows Russia to control regional sea lanes while strengthening its position against Japanese claims.
In the current climate, with Russia conducting joint military exercises with China and deepening ties with North Korea, the archipelago’s strategic value has only grown. Japan now ranks Moscow among the principal threats to its security.
Why Does Moscow Cling to the Islands?
Beyond military considerations, the Kurils hold significant natural riches. The archipelago contains deposits of gold, silver, and rare metals, as well as some of the richest fishing grounds in the North Pacific.
These resources represent a major economic stake for Russia, which is also seeking to expand fishing and mining operations in the region. Putin’s stop at a fish processing plant underscored the Kremlin’s intent to anchor long-term economic development on islands under Russian administration.
Can the Dispute Still Be Resolved?
Talks between Moscow and Tokyo had seen several revival attempts, notably under former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who cultivated a personal relationship with Putin. But Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine severely damaged bilateral ties.
Japan adopted sanctions against Russia and now describes the four islands as “illegally occupied,” language it had not used in nearly two decades. In response, Moscow contends that any challenge to its sovereignty amounts to “revisionism” and insists the matter is legally closed.
The visit to Iturup was not a casual stop on a busy schedule. It was a deliberate assertion of control over territory that Tokyo still calls its own—and a reminder that, for the Kremlin, the Kuril question is not up for negotiation.
