Japan protests as Russia holds rare missile drills near disputed Kuril Islands
Japan has protested a rare Russian missile exercise near disputed islands claimed by Tokyo, days after President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the territory.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet said it conducted the exercise around the Southern Kuril Islands using the Bastion coastal defense missile system, the guided-missile cruiser Varyag and the nuclear-powered submarine Omsk, Bloomberg and Kyodo News reported.
The exercise simulated attacks on enemy vessels, with missiles hitting targets at ranges of at least 300 kilometers (185 miles), according to the Russian military.
The Pacific Fleet did not disclose exactly when or where the exercise took place. Russia has deployed Bastion missile systems on Iturup, known in Japan as Etorofu, since 2016.
Japan lodged a formal protest after Moscow notified Tokyo that it planned to conduct the exercise during the week beginning Aug. 16, Kyodo reported, citing a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official.
“We cannot tolerate moves by Russia to strengthen military power on the four northern islands because they go against our country’s stance on the territories,” Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
The exercise comes amid renewed tensions over the islands following Putin’s Aug. 13 visit to Iturup — his first to the disputed territory. Tokyo also protested that visit.
Russia controls the four islands, which Japan calls its Northern Territories and Russia considers part of the Southern Kurils. Soviet forces seized them at the end of World War II. The territorial dispute has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a formal peace treaty formally ending their World War II hostilities.
Relations between Moscow and Tokyo have deteriorated further since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Japan joined other Group of Seven countries in imposing sanctions on Russia and has provided Ukraine with non-lethal military assistance, including body armor and transport vehicles.