Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Nov. 1 visited Kunashir/Kunashiri, one of the Southern Kuril Islands — the small islands just north of Japan in the Sea of Okhotsk that Japan claims as its own. The visit, apparently the first by a Russian leader to the islands, is inherently provocative given the territorial dispute and the lack of a peace treaty between Russia and Japan following World War II, when the Soviet Union seized the islands. The Japanese government has protested to the Russian ambassador, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called Japan's response "unacceptable." While the Japanese public harbors deep resentment over Russian administration of the islands, the islands are not a core concern to Moscow. The visit is therefore intended to put pressure on Japan and was likely orchestrated in conjunction with China. Both states have long-running territorial disputes with Japan and find mutual benefit in pressuring Japan so that its territorial claims appear to lose credibility and its inability to respond effectively is highlighted. China's growing boldness in international matters, especially in territorial disputes, has alarmed Japan, as has Russia's recent return to the Pacific region. Each of these threats strike at Japan's core strategic needs and expose core political and economic weaknesses in Japan — raising the question of whether and how Japan will be able to respond.
