Globalization and the information and communication technology that defines contact between people on the grassroots level are rapidly increasing and  having a greater impact on national and international policy. This paper tests this by comparing the perceptions of students in Universities in Japan and  Russia. In the initial stage of this study, students' knowledge about the countries in general; their traits or characteristics (national character), the  countries, contemporary economic situation, and their sources of information about each state were examined. The study showed that the Japanese  students had a significantly more negative perception of Russia than the Russian students of Japan and the means by which information was  communicated and facts learnt greatly varied between the two groups.