The Japanese government plans to consider measures in response to Vladimir Putin’s visit to one of the four islands controlled by Russia but claimed by Japan. One possible step could be strengthening the existing sanctions against Moscow imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This was reported by NNK.
In Japan, these islands are called the Northern Territories. The Japanese government considers them an inherent part of the country’s territory and says they were illegally occupied after World War II.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Thursday commented on Putin’s trip to Etorofu, one of the islands. She stressed that the islands “are an inherent territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based on international law.”
According to her, the visit by the incumbent Russian president “is incompatible with the Government of Japan’s consistent position” on these territories. Takaichi also said the trip “hurts the public sentiment of the Japanese people and is absolutely unacceptable.”
The prime minister added that the visit “has made it more difficult to restore Japan-Russia relations over the medium to long term.”
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. During the meeting, he lodged a strong protest against Putin’s visit and said that the fact it was carried out unilaterally has an extremely negative impact on bilateral relations. Motegi asked the ambassador to promptly convey this position to the Russian government.
In 2022, Russia announced its intention to suspend peace treaty negotiations with Japan after Tokyo imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The talks concerned, among other things, the territorial issue over the islands.
The Japanese government continues to maintain a policy of keeping communications with Russia despite the prolonged war in Ukraine. Last month, Motegi briefly exchanged views with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Philippines.
Analysts expect the already strained relations between Japan and Russia to deteriorate even further after this.
