Putin’s visit to the Northern Territories: Why now?
The timing of the visit is unusual, as it comes weeks in advance of when Putin was widely expected to travel to Russia's Far East.
Vladimir Putin made his first-ever visit to the Northern Territories, sparking immediate backlash from Tokyo. Hours after Russian state media announced the visit to Etorofu to observe Russia's Pacific Fleet exercises, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi vocally protested, asserting that the Northern Territories are "Japan's inherent territory both historically and under international law."
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi echoed these sentiments, stating that the trip "can only be said to have further hardened anti-Russia sentiment within Japan and made medium- to long-term recovery of relations more difficult."
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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