Kuril Islands and Sakhalin: Japan’s Cold War Frontier

Vladimir Putin recently visited the Kuril Islands, sparking protest from Japan. Today we’re talking about the dispute between Japan and Russia over these islands that goes all the way back to the absolute earliest days of the Cold War. We’ll cover this area’s historical past between the Ainu, Russia and Japan up through the modern talks on the islands. We’ll also spend some time on Japan’s early days of the Cold War and turn towards the US amid simmering tensions with the USSR. We’ll also cover the strategic significance of these islands for the USSR and the modern challenges they present for Japan