Yohei Sasakawa, the honorary chair of Japan's Nippon Foundation, met with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, during a visit to Moscow last weekend.
During the meeting, held on Saturday, Kirill told Sasakawa that the Russian church is seeking dialogue with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Sasakawa told a news conference at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Moscow on Sunday.
Kirill is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Sasakawa also said that even as Japan-Russia relations deteriorate between governments, it is important to properly pursue future-oriented people-to-people exchanges.
Earlier this month, the Japanese government adjusted its travel advisory for Russia. While maintaining its travel alert for the country at Level 3, which advises against all travel, it now permits travel and stays for "truly unavoidable circumstances" such as business, study or research.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.