US Ambassador to Japan George Glass said Washington’s policy of recognizing Japan’s sovereignty over the disputed islands had not changed following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iturup Island.
In a statement posted on the social media platform X on Friday, Glass said the United States continued to support Japan, one of its most important allies, and recognize Tokyo’s sovereignty over the Northern Territories. He said the United States and Japan strongly opposed any steps that undermined peace and stability in the region as their alliance focused on promoting prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
Putin’s visit to the island
Putin visited Iturup Island on Thursday, a place Japan calls Etorofu. The visit to the island chain, which is controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan and lies off Hokkaido, was Putin’s first trip to the area.
Moscow calls the islands the Southern Kuril Islands. Tokyo argues that Iturup, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai island group, which it calls the Northern Territories, are under Japanese sovereignty.
The parties’ differing positions
Japan argues that the former Soviet Union seized the islands “unlawfully” immediately after Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, during World War II. Russia, however, says the seizure was legitimate.
The island dispute has been one of the reasons Russia and Japan have been unable to sign a peace treaty since World War II. Tensions between the two countries have increased further in recent years after Japan imposed sanctions on Moscow over the Russia-Ukraine war.
Tokyo protests to Moscow
Following Putin’s visit, the Japanese government summoned Russia’s ambassador to Tokyo, Nikolay Nozdrev, on Thursday and lodged a “strong protest.” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also said the islands were historically and under international law an integral part of Japanese territory.
