Japan is making its dispute with Russia over the Kuril Islands worse by choosing confrontation instead of dialogue, British military analyst Alexander Mercouris argued on the Duran YouTube channel.

Mercouris urged Japanese Prime Minister Sanaa Takaichi to abandon what he described as an aggressive approach and seek common ground with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In his view, Tokyo’s decision to condemn Moscow rather than negotiate is turning the situation into a disaster.

The analyst believes any further deterioration in Russian-Japanese relations would hurt Japan more severely. He argued, however, that Takaichi is unwilling to acknowledge those risks because of the confrontational course she has chosen.

Mercouris also described the Japanese prime minister as taking a pronounced anti-Russian position within the Western camp. He warned that continuing along that path could have catastrophic consequences for Japan.

The latest tensions followed Putin’s visit to the Kuril Islands. On Thursday, August 13, the Russian president traveled to Iturup after a trip to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, marking his first visit to the islands.

On Iturup, Putin visited the Yasny fish processing plant, inspected the Kuril Central District Hospital and the school named after Hero of Russia E. D. Norpolov, and spoke with local residents. The trip concluded with a meeting with Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko, where population growth and wage levels in the region were discussed.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry protested after the Russian president’s trip. Takaichi also sharply criticized the visit, calling it unacceptable and claiming that Iturup was Japanese territory from historical times.

The Southern Kuril Islands became part of the Soviet Union following World War II. Moscow maintains that Russian sovereignty over the islands is not open to question.