August 14, 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 13 visited Etorofu Island in the Chishima Islands, which are Japanese territory, for the first time, thereby asserting Russia’s claim to the Islands.

Japanese Communist Party Central Committee Chair Shii Kazuo issued a statement of protest on the same day. The full text of the statement is as follows:

The Japanese Communist Party strongly protests the Russian President’s visit to the Chishima Islands

August 13, 2026
Shii Kazuo
Chairperson of the Japanese Communist Party Central Committee

On August 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Etorofu Island in the Chishima (Kurile) Islands, which is Japanese territory. This is an attempt to solidify Russia's occupation of the archipelago, which it unjustly annexed, and runs counter to a just resolution of the Japan-Russia territorial issue. We strongly protest this action.

The president has claimed that the islands became Russian territory as a result of World War II. However, I must point out that the Japan-Russia territorial issue in fact arose from the Soviet Union's unilateral annexation of the historically Japanese Chishima Islands, as well as the Habomai Islands and Shikotan Island (both part of Hokkaido), at the end of the war — a blatant violation of the postwar settlement principle of "no territorial expansion" and one of the worst examples of hegemonism.

With Russia intensifying its hegemonic actions, such as its unlawful war of aggression against Ukraine, it is all the more important to act in accordance with international principles in order to resolve the territorial issue. The Japanese government must not take the "renunciation of the Chishima Islands" clause in the San Francisco Peace Treaty as an unchangeable premise, but must firmly stand on the position of correcting the injustices of the post-World War II settlement and demand the return of all Chishima Islands as well as the Habomai Islands and Shikotan Island. The Japanese Communist Party strongly urges the government to rebuild territorial negotiations from this position.