Akita Dog Gifted to Putin Dies

Tokyo, May 16 (Jiji Press)--Yume, an Akita dog gifted to Russian President Vladimir Putin by Japan, has died, the presidential office said.

The Kremlin in Moscow said in a written response on Friday that the female dog born in April 2012 died of old age last year.

Yume was given to the Russian leader by Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan in July 2012 as a gesture of gratitude for Moscow's support in the aftermath of the March 2011 major earthquake and tsunami that rocked northeastern Japan.

The dog made an appearance when Putin welcomed then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the southern Russian city of Sochi in 2014, but she had since been kept out of the diplomatic limelight due to strained Japan-Russia relations following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

A Siberian cat named Mir given to Akita Prefecture by Putin in 2013 as a token of appreciation died of illness in December 2024.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]