MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s far-eastern Kuril islands for the first time on Thursday, prompting protests by Japan which also claims the territory.
Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and seized by the Soviet Union in 1945.
The Kremlin posted a video of Putin on one of the four main islands, with Russian media saying he visited a fish-processing plant and showing him trying local caviar.
It was the first visit by a Russian president since Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.
“The Northern Territories are an inherent part of Japan’s territory, both historically and under international law,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters.
