Russia threatens Japan over Kuril Islands claims

A senior Russian official has issued a stark warning to Japan, threatening consequences over Tokyo's territorial claims to the Kuril Islands. The official, identified as the head of Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, accused Japan of adopting a "confrontational rhetoric" due to its claims over the disputed islands, which Russia considers an "inseparable part of the Russian Federation."

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Let them remember the times when militaristic Japan killed millions of peaceful residents. Now they are trying to return to the same rhetoric. Don't.

Volodin invoked Japan's wartime past, urging Tokyo to remember its history of "killing millions of peaceful residents" during its militaristic era. He cynically warned Japan against returning to such rhetoric, stating, "It is impossible to defeat a nuclear state like Russia." This aggressive stance underscores the deep-seated tensions between the two nations over the sovereignty of the islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan.

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It is impossible to defeat a nuclear state like Russia.

The diplomatic friction intensified on August 13 when Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit in 26 years to the Kuril Islands, including Iturup Island. Japan formally protested this visit, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi asserting that Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan islands, and the Habomai islet group are "territories that have belonged to Japan since ancient times." She deemed Putin's visit "completely unacceptable."

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Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan islands and the Habomai islet group are 'territories that have belonged to Japan since ancient times.'

The dispute over the Kuril Islands has long been a major obstacle to a formal peace treaty between Russia and Japan since the end of World War II. The islands were seized by the Soviet Union in the final days of the war, and Japan has consistently sought their return.

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Russia's president's visit... is completely unacceptable.