Japanese Leave for Russian-Held Isle under Visa-Free Program

June 1, 2018

Nemuro, Hokkaido- A group of 65 Japanese people departed from a port in Nemuro, Hokkaido, on Friday for Etorofu, one of the four Russian-controlled northwestern Pacific islands, under a bilateral visa-free program.

The visit is the first of its kind since Japan and Russia had a summit and an event to kick off the bilateral cultural exchange year program in Moscow last week.

The visa-free program exchange program entered its 27th year this year.

In the first visa-free visit to one of the four disputed islands in fiscal 2018, the group will visit graves of their relatives in Shana, also known as Kurilsk, at the center of Etorofu.

The members will take a tour of a seafood-processing factory and other facilities. They will also visit local residents' houses.

At an event with local residents on Saturday, the group will make origami crafts and exchange opinions on culture, art and other themes. The group will return to the Nemuro port on Monday.

Visa-free visits "have played a leading role in exchanges between Japan and Russia," Shigemasa Noguchi, the 75-year-old head of the group, told a ceremony to form the group on Thursday.

"I want you to actively deepen exchanges with a friendly heart," Noguchi told other group members. He is a former resident of Kunashiri, also among the disputed islands.

The four islands off the eastern coast of the northernmost prefecture were seized by Soviet troops from Japan in the closing days of World War II and have been long claimed by Japan. The other two are Shikotan and the Habomai group of islets. Jiji Press