US backs Japan's claim to disputed islands after Putin visit
11:12, 14/08/2026, FridayU: Update: 11:28, 14/08/2026, Friday
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File photoUS Ambassador to Japan George Glass said Washington remains unwavering in its recognition of Japanese sovereignty over the Northern Territories, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the disputed Iturup Island and Tokyo's subsequent strong protest to Moscow.
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass on Friday reaffirmed Washington's "unwavering" support for Japanese sovereignty over the disputed Northern Territories, directly responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iturup Island a day earlier.
US-Japan Alliance
Posting on social media platform X, Glass emphasized that Washington "remains unwavering in its support of its most important ally and in its recognition of Japanese sovereignty over the Northern Territories." He added that the US-Japan Alliance, dedicated to cultivating prosperity across the Indo-Pacific, strongly opposes any action undermining regional peace and stability.
Historical dispute
The ambassador's remarks marked the first official US reaction to Putin's Thursday trip to Iturup — which Japan calls Etorofu — representing the first visit by a Russian leader to the southern Kuril Islands since the war in Ukraine began. Tokyo maintains that the Soviet Union illegally seized Iturup, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group following Japan's World War II surrender in August 1945, a claim Moscow rejects.
Diplomatic tensions
The prolonged dispute has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty for nearly eight decades, while Japan's sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war have deepened bilateral tensions. On Thursday, Tokyo summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to lodge a strong protest, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated that the islands represent inherent Japanese territory "both historically and under international law."
