On January 25, 2013, the 8th exhibition sponsored by our Global COE Program opened at the Hokkaido University Museum. It seeks to investigate how the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka, a distant world when looked at from Hokkaido, have been viewed through Soviet and Russian eyes. Through viewing such materials as the landscape paintings of numerous artists and the mineral, marine and forestry samples of researchers, we can gain an understanding of the past, present and future of the ‘near, yet distant’ lands of the Kurils and Kamchatka, as well as the border issues involved. The exhibition will run until May 26th and is free to enter, so make sure to pop by.