Russian President Vladimir Putin recently landed for the first time on the disputed island between Russia and Japan — Iturup Island, known by Russia as the South Kuril Islands. The move sparked strong protests from the Japanese side. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that the four northern islands are Japan's “inherent territory,” and Putin's move is “absolutely unacceptable.” Due to disputes over the ownership of the islands, Russia and Japan have not concluded a peace treaty since the end of World War II. Meng Mingming, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, analyzed that Putin first boarded the disputed islands between Russia and Japan as the current president and inspected local daily life, which itself is a sign of high politicization. In Russia's view, these islands are no longer disputed territories; Putin used practical actions to deny the existence of a sovereignty dispute here. Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Russian Institute of Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said that Putin's trip proved to the outside world that Russia still has the ability to maintain territorial and maritime security in the Far East, break the Western diplomatic narrative that “the Russian army is deep in the Ukraine crisis and flawlessly cares about the Far East,” and told Japan and its allies that Russia is capable of balancing East and West security.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently landed for the first time on the disputed island between Russia and Japan — Iturup Island, known by Russia as the South Kuril Islands. The move sparked strong protests from the Japanese side. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that the four northern islands are Japan's “inherent territory,” and Putin's move is “absolutely unacceptable.” Due to disputes over the ownership of the islands, Russia and Japan have not concluded a peace treaty since the end of World War II. Meng Mingming, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, analyzed that Putin first boarded the disputed islands between Russia and Japan as the current president and inspected local daily life, which itself is a sign of high politicization. In Russia's view, these islands are no longer disputed territories; Putin used practical actions to deny the existence of a sovereignty dispute here. Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Russian Institute of Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also said that Putin's trip proved to the outside world that Russia still has the ability to maintain territorial and maritime security in the Far East, break the Western diplomatic narrative that “the Russian army is deep in the Ukraine crisis and flawlessly cares about the Far East,” and told Japan and its allies that Russia is capable of balancing East and West security.