On Thursday, the Finnish logistics company Nurminen Logistics will send a freight train from Helsinki to the port city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.
The route, which is more than 10,000 kilometers long, runs from Helsinki to the Russian port city of Vostochny and from there by sea to Yokohama.
According to the company, the last scheduled train to Finland from Japan was more than 30 years ago.
"This is a barrier train for one customer, but due to the high demand for Japanese exports and imports, we believe that more trains will start to open between Finland and Japan," Sales Director Marjut Linnajärvi said in a company press release.
The statement added that the company is currently negotiating the shipment of 18 similar container trains to Japan and that departures are expected to be more regular once the required permits have been obtained.
Japan is Asia’s second largest trading partner after China after Finland, and wood, paper and machinery are exported to the Far East, according to the company.
Nurminen Logistics has also recently opened new cargo routes to Chinese cities in Jianzhou and Tianjin.
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