The First Lady congratulated the children on Japan’s upcoming national holiday, the Emperor’s Birthday, and presented each child with a book, Walks Through the Old Town and a lacquer box made in the tradition of Russian artistic crafts depicting characters from Russian fairy tales.
Svetlana Medvedeva expressed confidence that the Japanese children’s visit to the Russian capital will help them learn more about Russia: the children have a full program that includes a Russian cuisine masterclass and a meeting with Russian peers interested in Japanese culture.
The First Lady wished the Japanese guests a happy New Year, good health and expressed the hope that they will have many enjoyable experiences during their stay in Russia and will remember them for the rest of their lives.
In the Kremlin, the Japanese children were taken on a tour of the Grand Kremlin Palace, where they visited the rooms intended for members of the imperial family, as well as the St George, St Vladimir, St Alexander and St Andrew state halls.
Earlier, two more groups of Japanese children from the areas affected by the tsunami visited Russia.