TOKYO, July 3 (RIA Novosti) - The 34th annual Russian language contest was held in Tokyo Sunday.

The Japan - Eurasian Countries Association, the Russian Embassy in Japan, the Russian Foreign Center and RIA Novosti are the contest organizers.

A student of Tokyo University of Foreign Languages who won the contest received a free two-way ticket to Russia.

The finals saw 30 participants, including students and ordinary people studying Russian. They spoke about causes which made them study Russian, their feelings on Russia, its people and culture.

Although Russian is very difficult to learn, the Japanese study it wishing 'to understand the Russian soul' and 'work for the benefit of Russia and Japan.'

Unfortunately, Russian is less popular in Japan than English and French. Many people are afraid of its grammar and phonetic difficulties and vague prospects of employment. However, Russian is taught is major Japanese universities.