Zagitova’s Sudden Post of “I Miss Japan” Reveals Mixed Feelings

Alina Zagitova, gold medalist in women’s figure skating at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, has sent out a message in Japanese that is creating a lot of buzz.

Born in 2002, Zagitova is a figure skater; at the young age of 15 years and 9 months, she won the gold medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. However, her performance subsequently declined due to a poor performance and she decided to temporarily suspend her participation in competitions. She did not just retire, but commented that she had no intention of standing still or leaving. In the meantime, she participated in ice shows and other events.

Then, she appeared at the “Figure Skating Russian Championships” as a member of the media. She was also invited to be a reporter at the Beijing Olympics, and she commented, “I miss it. I am very happy to be able to immerse myself in this atmosphere again,” she wrote in her impressions.

Zagitova, who is known as a pro-Japanese person, fell in love with an Akita dog during her stay in Japan before the PyeongChang Olympics, where she won the gold medal, and the Akita Inu Preservation Society donated a female Akita dog to her. She was named “Masaru” (meaning victory). With Masaru, Zagitova visited the Japanese Ambassador to Russia and his wife in January this year, and reported on her Instagram that they had a friendly chat.

In the meantime, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. Russia attracted criticism from around the world, and Japan joined in economic sanctions against Russia. Japan was then designated an unfriendly country by Russia, and Russia announced its intention to suspend peace treaty negotiations.

Despite this tense atmosphere in Japan-Russia relations, Zagitova posted a message in Japanese on her Instagram page.

I miss Japan.

What do these words mean? Are they worried about the current government’s response? Or are they looking for friendship with Japan? Or is she trying to improve the image of Russia among the Japanese people?

She is a pro-Japan person. Perhaps she is simply concerned about the current “inconvenient situation” and is expressing a sincere desire to visit Japan as soon as possible to bring peace to the country. The day Zagitova comes to Japan again will be the day when peace truly returns. We can only hope that that time will return as soon as possible.