Japan resumes student exchange trips to Russia after 7-year hiatus
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The exchanges were suspended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and did not resume after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
PHOTO: ST FILE
TOKYO – Japan has resumed a programme for university students to engage in short-term studies in Russia for the first time in seven years, the Foreign Ministry said on Aug 28.
A total of 15 Japanese university students studying Russian and other subjects stayed in Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, from Aug 12 to Aug 20, taking part in language training and exchanges with local counterparts, the ministry said.
The programme is organised by the Japan-Russia Youth Exchange Centre, an organisation jointly funded by the two governments.
The exchanges were suspended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and did not resume after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Japan imposing economic sanctions on Moscow.
With the resumption of the programme drawing criticism, the ministry said Japan’s sanctions policy towards Russia remains unchanged but emphasised the importance of people-to-people exchanges from a medium- to long-term perspective. KYODO NEWS
