Russian President Vladimir Putin called Russia “the land of the sunrise”, that is how Japan was called, explaining that “to the east of Japan is New Zealand, and to the east of New Zealand is Russian Chukotka.”
During a meeting with participants of the All-Russian Youth Ecological Forum “Ecosystem. Protected Lands” Putin called Russia “the land of sunrise”, noting that the territory of the Russian Federation is located to the east of Japan and New Zealand.
Putin added that Russia begins with a person, because where a Russian person is, there is Russia.
And the President of Russia said: “In general, our Japanese neighbors, Japan, are called (name) the land of sunrise, but in the east of Japan, in my opinion, only Kamchatka or Sakhalin, and even in the east New Zealand, and in the east of New Zealand there is Chukotka. The strait is only 60 kilometers away and that’s all – the American continent is behind it. In this sense, the land of the rising sun is Russia.”
Source: RIA Novosti