Iturup

Iturup (Russian: Итуру́п, romanized: Iturúp), known in Japan as Etorofu (Japanese: 択捉島, Hepburn: Etorofu-tō), is the largest of the Kuril Islands separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. It is the largest and northernmost of the southern Kurils, ownership of which is disputed between Russia and Japan. It is located between Kunashir 19 km (12 mi) to its southwest and Urup 37 km (23 mi) to its northeast. The Vries Strait between Iturup and Urup forms the Miyabe Line dividing the predominant plants of the Kurils. The town of Kurilsk, the administrative center of Russia's Kurilsky District, is located roughly midway along Iturup's western shore. The 2021 Russian census recorded a population of 6,874 people. The native inhabitants of the islands since at least the 14th century were the Ainu people. Various European explorers passed the area over the years but settlement varied between Russian and Japanese. The island was formally claimed as Japanese territory in 1855. Near the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Soviet Union occupied the southern Kurils and forcibly removed its Japanese residents. Japan continues to claim the islands and considers the northern edge of the island to be its own northernmost point.