Japan on Wednesday lodged a formal protest with Russia over the arrest of a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage, demanding an explanation, access for Japanese officials and humane treatment for the reporter.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged that the journalist, who works for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, had collected information on Russia’s defence capabilities on behalf of a Japanese intelligence agency. The Russian Foreign Ministry identified him as Yuki Imai.
The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said the journalist was arrested on Sakhalin Island while preparing to leave Russia.
The arrest has added to tensions between the two countries, which have worsened since Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup in August. The island is one of four disputed islands in the Kuril chain, controlled by Moscow but claimed by Tokyo.
Hokkaido Shimbun said the journalist had been working in Russia on a journalist visa and was scheduled to leave the country on Tuesday. The newspaper did not identify him by name. His latest report from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of the Sakhalin region, was published on Oct. 5.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tuesday that Imai had been charged with espionage. She accused Japan of using its journalists in Russia to collect information aimed at undermining Russian security and described the alleged practice as “regrettable.”
Zakharova also said Japan’s policies toward Russia and its military expansion threatened Moscow’s security interests in the Far East, warning that the case would further strain bilateral relations.
In Tokyo, Kimitake Nakamura, head of the European Affairs Bureau at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev on Wednesday to protest the arrest and Russia’s announcement of the case without first explaining it to the Japanese government, according to a ministry statement.
Nakamura called for the journalist to receive humane and fair treatment and demanded that Japanese officials be permitted to contact him.
He also reaffirmed Japan’s territorial claim to the disputed islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territory. Nakamura separately protested a recent visit to Iturup by officials from a Chinese regional government and companies, describing it as “unacceptable.” The Sakhalin regional government announced the visit on Tuesday.
Nozdrev said he would convey Japan’s position to Moscow, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called for the journalist’s immediate release, saying journalists should not be used as leverage in broader geopolitical disputes.
“Journalists must not be used as leverage in wider geopolitical disputes,” said Fiona O’Brien, CPJ’s director for Europe and Central Asia.
The rights group said at least 30 journalists were being held in Russia in connection with their work.
Earlier, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the journalist’s health condition remained unknown because Japanese officials had been unable to contact him. Russia had not responded to Tokyo’s requests for access, he added.
“We’ll do everything we can for the protection of the Japanese citizen,” Kihara said.
Although Japan has “many problems” with Russia, the two countries are neighbours and “we need to communicate,” he said, adding that Tokyo would take appropriate steps to protect its national interests while managing relations with Moscow.
The Russian region of Sakhalin includes Sakhalin Island and the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, which Russia controls and Japan claims.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had protested Putin’s August visit to Iturup, describing it as another setback for relations already strained by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Japan imposed additional economic sanctions on Moscow over the conflict.
The Soviet Union seized the Kuril Islands from Japan in the final days of World War II. The long-running territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending hostilities.