Putin visits Iturup, prompting Japan protest over Kurils

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island in the Kuril Islands on Thursday, his first trip to the disputed territory also claimed by Japan. Kremlin footage and Russian media reports showed Putin touring a fish-processing plant and being served caviar. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the move “absolutely unacceptable,” while Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolai Nozdrev in Tokyo to deliver a strong protest. Japan says the four islands it calls the Northern Territories are an integral part of its territory. The dispute dates to the Soviet Union’s seizure of the islands in 1945 and is a main reason Russia and Japan have never signed a peace treaty after World War II.