Abe, Putin Join Exchange Year Opening Ceremony

May 27, 2018

Moscow- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an event to kick off the Japan-Russia cultural exchange year program in Moscow on Saturday.

At the exchange year opening ceremony held at the Bolshoi Theater, Abe said, "When Japanese and Russian people meet with each other and understand with each other, mutual trust and friendship will be born to get the two countries much closer."

The exchange year program will lead to friendlier ties and stronger partnership between Japan and Russia, Putin stressed.

The program was launched in line with an Abe-Putin agreement in 2016.

At the day's event, traditional Japanese drummers performed and people dressed in samurai armor showed a "kagami-biraki" sake barrel-opening ritual. Jiji Press