On Thursday, November 24, Governor Koike met with Ambassador Evgeny Vladimirovich Afanasiev of Russia at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

"Tokyo and Moscow are friendship cities. I look forward to the friendship between Japan and Russia growing even deeper through this relationship between Tokyo and Moscow. This year marks an important milestone as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our friendship city relationship," said the governor at the meeting.

Ambassador Afanasiev then presented the governor with an embroidered picture saying, "To mark the 25th anniversary, I would like to present you with this textile depicting your friendship city of Moscow."

The ambassador and governor enjoyed a cordial conversation, which included Governor Koike's anecdotes from past travel to Russia and other topics. During their discussion, the ambassador remarked, "Moscow and Tokyo are global metropolises, as well as the largest cities in Japan and Russia. Therefore, the efforts of the respective leaders of both places are important."