From the U.S. Embassy in Moscow: "If an applicant has lived abroad for more than one year, a police certificate must also be submitted from the country in which he/she lived."

Natalia studied in Japan, but was not ever there for 12 consecutive months. Cumulatively, however, she was there for much more than 12 months (in total) since she was 16.

Does she need police certificates from Japan or not?

I cannot speak for Moscow but the Embassy in Kiev denied (delayed) a recent member's fiancee' for not providing a PC based on two 6 mos stays (total stay was something like 370 days cumulative). It would be best to ask the consulate directly but based on this experience the chances are the answer would be yes.....

I also remember someone who had to wait for a Police Certificate from Japan to get the visa because the fiancée had lived there for more than 12 months in non-consecutive months. I think it's better be safe than sorry!!! Getting too much won't hurt you, but getting too little might delay your visa.

And I also read it takes about 3 months to get this police certificate from the Japanese consulate in her country.