evidence: The 75-year-old Russian national has made the trip from Sakhalin 10 times since 2005, through a special program the Japanese government set up in 1990 to help cover the costs of such visits. [...] The southern half of Sakhalin was once a Japanese territory called Karafuto, where coal mining and paper production flourished. By mid-1945, about 400,000 Japanese people called it home. [...] On a fine autumn day, the siblings took a sightseeing trip in Karuizawa, a resort town in Nagano Prefecture. Tour official Saito says moments like this are exactly why the program is more important than ever.