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Siberian cat Putin gave as a gift to governor of Akita Prefecture in 2012 dies in Japan

Over the 12 years of his life, Mir was treated like a member of Norihisa Satake's family

© Igor Belyayev/TASS

TOKYO, December 3. /TASS/. A Siberian cat called Mir (Russian for "peace"), which Russian President Vladimir Putin gave to the governor of Japan's northern Akita Prefecture Norihisa Satake in 2012, has died. As a TASS correspondent was told in the Akita Prefecture’s Public Relations Department, the cause of death was illness.

In the summer of 2012, Satake gave Putin a Japanese Akita Inu puppy, for which his prefecture is famous, as a token of gratitude for the assistance Russia provided to Japan after the catastrophic natural disasters in March 2011. The puppy was named Yume (Dream).

In response, Putin gave him an ash-colored kitten. This gift was chosen after it became known that the governor loves cats more than dogs. In Japan, they named the kitten after the Russian word for "peace," which in local transcription sounds like "miru."

Due to legal requirements, little Mir was quarantined in a special zone of Tokyo's Narita International Airport. For six months, employees of the Russian embassy regularly visited the cat, bringing him various treats and toys. After the quarantine, the kitten settled in the governor's house.

Over the 12 years of his life, Mir was treated like a member of Norihisa Satake's family. In 2020, the governor told TASS that the cat has an excellent appetite, is strong and cheerful, and calm by nature. "Mir gets along well with six other cats that live in our house. This is a special creature for me - My soul is at peace when I see his face," the head of the prefecture noted.

The Akita Prefecture is located in the north of the main Japanese island of Honshu. Its population is just under 970,000 people, it is mainly engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

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