Former Japanese residents of four Russian-held islands near Hokkaido bid farewell Sunday to their hosts at Etorofu Island.

NEMURO, Hokkaido (Kyodo) Two groups of Japanese -- comprising 107 people in all -- returned to Nemuro port in eastern Hokkaido on Monday from separate visa-free trips to Russian-held islands that are claimed by Japan.

The first group of 46, including 36 former islanders and their children, landed on Yuri Island of the Habomai islet group on Sunday morning and visited an area where former residents lived before World War II, organizers said.

It was the first trip to Yuri under a visa-free program that began in June 1999, and the last this year.