On the 26th, the government announced that Russia would forego the exchange program with the four northern islands, including the "visa-free exchange," in light of the fact that Russia is continuing its military invasion of Ukraine.
Exchange projects with the four northern islands, such as grave visits by former islanders in the Northern Territories and "visa-free exchanges," have been carried out from May to September every year, but due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, It has been canceled for two consecutive years until last year.
The government has been considering measures this year as the infection situation has settled down, but Russia has continued its military invasion of Ukraine and has announced its intention to unilaterally suspend peace treaty negotiations with Japan. Based on this, on the 26th, we announced that we decided to forgo the implementation of the project for the time being.
The government said, "I'm very sorry, and I'm still afraid that I want to respond to the wishes of the elderly former islanders, but given the current situation in Ukraine, I'm not in a position to talk about the outlook for the business." , I want to get the understanding of the people concerned, including the former islanders.