around 200 kilometers north of vladivostok. most people here are farmers, but their numbers are dwindling fast. the population stands at 22,000. that's down 20% from 10 years ago. we're in the village here at the district office people can apply for land under the far east one hectare law. staff tell us many people who come asking about free land don't have internet access. >> we provide people with information about available land. if they want to apply, we help them with the online procedures. >> irina is showing us how to submit an application. clicking on the home page reveals a map of the far east. the far east is divided into nine administrative regions. and each region has a pilot district. ireina zooms in and then into te district wedged between the chinese border and lake hanka. available land is shown in white. to claim their stake, applicants just click on a plot. >> basically speaking, applicants are free to choose any shape for their plot of land. we can offer advice on a suitable arrangement. this is to make sure

potential in vladivostok for cooperation with the asia-pacific region and the countries where i go soy times, especially japan, but also china, south korea, taiwan. it was clear that we can make enormous progress and strengthen cultural ties with those countries. >> reporter: gergiev also doesn't shy away from commenting on russia's international affairs. president vladimir putin is scheduled to visit japan for a summit. he says he's optimistic about the future of relations between the two countries. >> we have strong relationship with japan. it's obvious i have strong relationship in russia. the experience is strong. their vision of the world allows them to find very best solutions for global cooperation and for country-to-country cooperation. ♪ >> reporter: when it comes to deepening bilateral relations, he says it's important for diplomatic and political efforts to be supported by cultural exchanges. nhk world, tokyo. >>> here is the weekend weather forecast. >>> that's all we have for now on nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. thank you for watching and have a good day. y >>

she retired in 1988 at the age of 38 and returned home to vladivostok. later, the soviet union collapsed, the amount of her pension was significantly reduced and she was forced to take janitorial jobs to eke out a living. her checkered life even made the newspaper newspapers. >> when i heard an opera and ballet theater had opened here, i was happy. but at the same time i was sad. happy because the theater i dreamed about since i was five years old had become a reality and sad because it came too late. the spoon has to be set on the table at supper time. you know what i mean. >> this year, she turned 66 years old. she still keeps her shoes as a cherished memento. it's july 30th, the grand opening day of the festival. the festival's artistic director holds a press conference. >> tickets are just about sold out. we've never seen ticket sales like this. everything about this festival from the ticket sales to audience interest and to the number of performances is on an unprecedented scale. of course, our costs were commence rat with the scale of the event as

visit ncicap.org] >>> vladivostok is the largest city in the far east of russia.ember 2015, russian president vladimir putin came here to announce a new policy.