Statement by the Foreign Minister

August 13, 2026
Japanese
  1. Today, on August 13, I was informed that Mr. Putin, President of the Russian Federation, visited Etorofu Island. Subsequently, I summoned Mr. Nozdrev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Japan, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and lodged a strong protest against this visit.
  2. The Northern Territories are islands over which Japan has sovereignty and are an inherent territory of Japan. This visit is incompatible with Japan’s consistent position regarding the Northern Territories and is extremely regrettable.
  3. Although Japan has continued to convey its position on the Northern Territories to the Russian side at every opportunity, the fact that this visit was carried out unilaterally not only has an extremely negative impact on Japan-Russia relations, which are already in a difficult situation due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, but also offends the sentiments of the Japanese people and is utterly unacceptable.
  4. I conveyed the above points to the Russian Ambassador to Japan and requested that he promptly relay them to the Russian government.

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