Japan Resumes Student Internship Program with Russia
World
Japan plans to resume its short-term student internship program at Russian universities, which was first suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic and later halted following the suspension of state-sponsored humanitarian exchanges between the two countries. Tokyo says maintaining people-to-people contacts remains important despite the current international environment.
According to Japanese media reports, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to restart the program in August 2026. Established in 1999 as part of bilateral youth exchanges, the initiative is funded by the Japanese government.
The internships were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic, and following the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine conflict in 2022, Japan halted most government-backed cultural and humanitarian exchanges with Russia. Japanese officials now argue that preserving human connections is essential from a medium- and long-term perspective.
The internships will last several weeks, allowing participants to interact with Russian students studying Japanese and gain first-hand experience of the country's educational and cultural environment. Japan expects to send several dozen students during the 2026 fiscal year.
At the same time, Tokyo continues to maintain economic sanctions and export restrictions against Russia. The Japanese Foreign Ministry stresses that educational and humanitarian exchanges are considered separately from sanctions policy and do not conflict with the existing restrictive measures.
The internships were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic, and following the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine conflict in 2022, Japan halted most government-backed cultural and humanitarian exchanges with Russia. Japanese officials now argue that preserving human connections is essential from a medium- and long-term perspective.
The internships will last several weeks, allowing participants to interact with Russian students studying Japanese and gain first-hand experience of the country's educational and cultural environment. Japan expects to send several dozen students during the 2026 fiscal year.
At the same time, Tokyo continues to maintain economic sanctions and export restrictions against Russia. The Japanese Foreign Ministry stresses that educational and humanitarian exchanges are considered separately from sanctions policy and do not conflict with the existing restrictive measures.
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