Putin's Visit to Japan-Claimed Island Seen as Pre-Election Move

Tokyo, Aug. 14 (Jiji Press)--Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to one of the four northwestern Pacific islands at the center of a long-standing territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo may have been intended to shore up his popularity at home ahead of a national election in September.

Putin's visit to the island of Etorofu on Thursday came at a time when Japan has been seeking to kick-start diplomacy with Russia partly through the diversification of its energy procurement sources.

The Russian side appeared to have pushed ahead with the visit in such circumstances, believing that any backlash from Japan would be limited. It was Putin's first visit to any of the Russian-controlled islands claimed by Japan.

The islands, collectively known as the Northern Territories in Japan, were seized by the former Soviet Union from the East Asian nation at the end of World War II and have long been claimed by Tokyo.

In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in Sakhalin in the Russian Far East on Wednesday, Putin reportedly said that Moscow's jurisdiction over the four islands was "a reality that emerged following the end of World War II and is enshrined in international documents."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]