Russian Education Minister Visits Japan-Claimed Island

Tokyo, July 10 (Jiji Press)--Russian Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov visited Etorofu Island on Tuesday, marking the first visit in two years by a Russian cabinet minister to one of the Moscow-controlled northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Tokyo, the Japanese Embassy in Russia said Thursday.

Etorofu is one of the four islands off the northernmost Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido, which Japan collectively calls its Northern Territories.

The last Russian cabinet member to visit any of the disputed islands was Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, who traveled there in July 2024, according to the embassy.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry lodged a complaint with the Russian Embassy in Japan on Wednesday, saying, "Visits by Russian dignitaries to the four northern islands illegally occupied by Russia are against our country's position on the territorial issue and cannot be accepted."

According to media reports from Russia's Sakhalin Oblast, the administrative division that effectively controls the Northern Territories, Kravtsov inspected educational facilities on Etorofu. He noted that many efforts have been made in the construction and renovation of schools and emphasized that a modern environment is in place for all children to develop their talents.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]