Contribution and role of sister cities in the development of Russian-Japanese intercultural communication

Development of friendly ties between sister cities as one of the forms of civil diplomacy greatly contributes to the strengthening of Russian-Japanese intercultural communication. The advantage of civil diplomacy is the abstraction from political and diplomatic problems in the establishment of friendly relations between the peoples of Russia and Japan. This is especially important at the present stage, when the absence of a peace treaty and problem of the "Northern Territories" are often the pretext for the deterioration of Russian-Chinese relations. It is noted that the development of sister-city arrangement between the cities of Japan and Russia should not be limited to the spheres of culture and sports, close interaction in scientific fields, such as ecology, medicine is no less important in the conditions of modern reality. The exchange of best practices in these scientific fields contributes not only to the strengthening of ties between sister cities, but also to the improvement of living standards and well-being of the population in cities of Russia and Japan.