'Immortal Regiment' March Takes Place in Japan for 1st Time

It is important to keep memory about Soviet soldiers, who had defeated Nazi Germany, as well as about their heroic deeds, Russia's ambassador to Japan said.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — The WWII commemoration event, dubbed "Immortal Regiment" was held in the Japanese capital of Tokyo for the first time on the territory of the Russian embassy, Russian Ambassador to Japan Evgeny Afanasiev told Sputnik on Saturday.

"For the first time our staff and our nationals living in Japan have gathered in the embassy to commemorate our great ancestors, who had ensured freedom and independence of our Motherland," Afanasiev said.

Action #ImmortalRegiment takes place in #Japan on the territory of Embassy #Russia in #Tokyo. #бессмертныйполк #Япония #Токио pic.twitter.com/nW8VL5GtDi

— Russian Voice (@rus_voice) 6 мая 2017 г.

He added that it was necessary to keep memory about Soviet soldiers, who had defeated Nazi Germany, as well as about their heroic deeds.

The Tokyo event was attended by some 50 people, including the citizens and diplomats from Russia and Belarus.

The "Immortal Regiment" is a patriotic initiative that commemorates WWII soldiers in marches held across Russia and other countries. Within the framework of the movement that was held in Russia's Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012 for the first time people march carrying photographs of their ancestors, who participated in World War II.