First visa-free Japanese delegation arrives in Kurils

The first plane this year with a Japanese delegation on board landed at the Mendeleyevo airport as part of visa-free flights from Japan to the Kuril Islands, airport's director Sergei Gorbatovsky said, Sputnik reported.

"A plane of the Aurora airlines landed at our airport at 12:74 p.m. local time [01:47 GMT]. The plane departed from Nakashibetsu on the island of Hokkaido an hour later than scheduled," Gorbatovsky said.

A major part of the Japanese delegation are former residents of the Kuril Islands. They are expected to visit graves of their family members on Kunashir and Iturup.