Putin's first trip to the Pacific island chain claimed by Japan draws a protest from Tokyo

Moscow (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin journeyed to the Kuril Islands on Thursday, a visit that drew a diplomatic protest from Japan. The Kuril Islands, a group of volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, are claimed by both Russia and Japan. Japan calls them the Northern Territories, while Russia refers to them as the Southern Kurils. The dispute over the islands has prevented the countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II hostilities.

During his visit, Putin toured a fish plant, a hospital, and a school on Iturup, one of the southern islands. He also met with Valery Limarenko, the governor of Russia's Sakhalin region. Japan asserts its territorial rights to the four southernmost islands, while Russia took them from Japan at the end of World War II. Decades of diplomatic efforts to settle the dispute have not yielded any significant results.

In response to Putin's visit, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi called the trip "strongly protested" and summoned Russia's ambassador to Tokyo. He demanded that Russia promptly convey his country's concerns back to Moscow. Later, the Russian Embassy in Japan labeled Tokyo's protest as "unfounded" and reiterated its claim to the islands, stating that they are an integral part of the Russian Federation.

Japan has also protested Russia's military presence on the Kurils, a stance that has strained bilateral relations further. One Japanese reason for maintaining ties with Russia is to facilitate former Japanese residents returning to the islands and paying respects to their graves as a humanitarian act. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chair of the country's Security Council, dismissed Japan's protest, reiterating that the Kuril Islands are Russian land.