All Japan-funded educational institutions to close in Russia

Japan said it will shut down all education centers it funds in Russia after Moscow scrapped a bilateral memorandum that governed their operation.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular news conference in Tokyo that the decision was conveyed to Russia through diplomatic channels.

Tokyo had established six Japan Centers across Russia between 1994 and 2001 to provide technical assistance for the country’s social reforms.

Hayashi said Moscow’s termination of the memorandum was a “unilateral decision,” adding: “Japan Center has fulfilled its historic responsibility.”

He urged Russia to “secure the physical safety” of staff working at the centers as they close.

Japan has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022.