Russia Summons Japanese Ambassador as Dispute Over Kuril Islands Flares Up

Vladimir Putin’s first-ever visit to the disputed islands last week has prompted a diplomatic back-and-forth between Moscow and Tokyo.

The island off the east coast of Hokkaido is one of four held by Russia that are known as the Northern Territories in Japan.

Japan earlier summoned Russia's ambassador in protest over President Putin's visit to the islands.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin visits a school on Iturup island, one of four islands in the contested chain known as the Kuril Islands in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan, on Aug 13, 2026. (Photo: Gavriil Grigorov/POOL/AFP) 18 Aug 2

Russia summoned Japan’s ambassador after Tokyo protested President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed Kuril Islands, escalating an already bitter territorial row.

MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- Russia said Monday it has summoned the Japanese ambassador in Moscow after Tokyo lodged a strong protest over Russian President Vlad

Moscow has summoned the Japanese ambassador after Tokyo condemned President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Russia's far-eastern Kuril Islands, which are also claimed by Japan.

Russia has summoned Japan’s ambassador after Tokyo condemned President Putin’s visit to the disputed Kuril Islands. This escalates the long-standing Russia

Moscow said on Monday it had summoned the Japanese ambassador after Tokyo condemned President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to Russia’s far-eastern Kuril Islands, which are also claimed by Japan. Russian-Japanese relations have long been dogged by the contested islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories and se

AP —  Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made his first visit to the Kuril Islands, a Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago that also is claimed by Japan, which voiced a diplomatic protest over the trip. Putin visited a fish plant, a hospital and a school on Iturup, one of the volcanic chain’s southern island

Within hours, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the prime minister's comments, saying they "cause extreme outrage and are absolutely unacceptable".

The Russian leader flexes Moscow’s muscles in the Far East with his first visit to islands seized by the Soviets after the Second World War.