The hospital was destroyed by fire, though the church remained and Kasatkin stayed as a missionary at Hakodate, where he baptized a number of Japanese.

Prior to that, he received from the Holy Synod 95,000 yen yearly, but during the Russo-Japanese War, these and other resources from Russia were greatly diminished, while on the other hand the price of everything in Japan increased.

Kasatkin was compelled to diminish his expenses, to dismiss part of his staff and to exhort the Christians to contribute more generously to support their church.

After the victories of the Japanese over the Russian armies, the Christians leaders, after having agreed among themselves, declared to Kasatkin their intention to support themselves, independent of Russia.

According to one Protestant reckoning, the Orthodox church numbered 30,166 baptized Christians; according to another only 13,000 (the last figure denotes perhaps practicing members).

Despite its relatively small size, the Russian diaspora in Japan had a significant impact on the nation's economic and cultural spheres.

A white émigré family is depicted in the novel The Makioka Sisters by famed Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki.

During the Meiji period's Wild West frontier days, Russia played a significant role in shaping Hakodate, establishing one of the first foreign consulates after Japan opened its borders in the early 1860s.

[10] Once completed, the Sakhalin-Hokkaido Tunnel will further increase the migration of people from both sides, enlarging the population of Russians in Hokkaido even by a slight amount.

In addition, the Sakhalin Tunnel's completion and its connection to the Trans-Siberian railway might allow Russians from all over mainland Russia to travel to Hokkaido by train, crossing the Japan-Russia border.

[14] As of 2006, the statistics of Japanese government reported 39,000 Russians enter Japan yearly on average, not counting temporary landing permits of seamen and tourists.