Japan, Russia to Resume Youth Exchanges after 7-Year Hiatus

Tokyo, July 23 (Jiji Press)–An exchange program for young people in Japan and Russia is expected to resume in August after a seven-year break, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Thursday. Some 15 students from Japanese universities and graduate schools will be sent to St. Petersburg in northwestern Russia for about 10 days, the official said. They will attend Russian-language classes and interact with local students. The program began in 1999 based on an agreement reached at a Japan-Russia summit in the previous year. But it was suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The last event under the program took place in 2019. The Japanese ministry has been making arrangements with the Russian side for the restart of the program, as demand among Japanese students to visit and study in Russia increased during the suspension period, according to the official. “Providing opportunities to understand Russia firsthand and learn its language is all the more important because Japan-Russia relations are strained today,” the official said. In September, Japanese researchers will be sent to Russia, according to the official. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Foreign Ministry warned Japanese nationals against visiting Russia by raising the travel alert to the second-highest level on its four-tier system for most of the country, including St. Petersburg. The ministry eased the alert last September, allowing Japanese nationals to travel to and stay in Russia, excluding areas near the border with Ukraine, only when there are unavoidable circumstances, following requests from Japanese companies. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]