Tensions On The Kuril Islands Has Resulted In Russian President Putin's Postponing His Japan Visit Indefinitely

The Kuril Islands. Wikipedia

The Guardian: Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan postponed indefinitely

Moscow’s hardline stance on disputed island group torpedoes bilateral talks with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe that were set for later this year.

Vladimir Putin’s highly anticipated visit to Japan has been postponed indefinitely, amid anger in Tokyo at Moscow’s stance on a long-running territorial dispute and concern about Russia’s involvement in the Syrian conflict.

The Russian president was to have visited Tokyo by the end of the year to hold talks with Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, on the Northern Territories, a group of four islands seized from Japan by the Soviet Union towards the end of the second world war.

The dispute over the islands has prevented the two countries from signing a postwar peace treaty and soured ties between successive administrations.

Update: Putin unlikely to visit Japan by year-end due to territorial row -- Japan Times/Kyodo

WNU Editor: This dispute goes back centuries .... and will probably continue into the next. On a side note of interest .... there are a lot of Ukrainian ex-pats living there.