Japan on Wednesday protested Russia’s arrest of a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage, demanding an explanation, access to the detainee and assurances of humane treatment.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said the journalist, who works for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was suspected of collecting information about Russia’s defence capabilities on behalf of a Japanese intelligence agency. Russia’s Foreign Ministry identified him as Yuki Imai.
The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said Imai was arrested on Sakhalin Island as he was preparing to leave Russia on Tuesday.
The arrest has added to tensions between the two countries, which have deteriorated further following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s August visit to Iturup, one of four disputed Kuril Islands controlled by Moscow but claimed by Tokyo.
Hokkaido Shimbun said the journalist had been reporting in Russia on a journalist visa and was scheduled to leave the country on Monday. The newspaper did not disclose his name.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday that Imai had been charged with espionage. She accused Japan of using journalists working in Russia to gather information that undermines Russian security.
Zakharova also criticised Japan’s policies toward Russia and its military buildup, saying they threatened Moscow’s security interests in the Far East. The incident would further strain relations between the two countries, she added.
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 Moscow’s announcement of the case without explaining it to the Japanese government.
Nakamura called for the journalist to receive humane and fair treatment and demanded that Japanese officials be allowed to meet him, according to a statement from the ministry.
He also reiterated Japan’s territorial claim over the Kuril Islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territory, and protested a recent visit to Iturup by officials of a Chinese regional government and business representatives, describing it as unacceptable.
Nozdrev said he would convey Japan’s concerns to Moscow, the Japanese ministry said.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara earlier said Tokyo had been unable to establish contact with the journalist and did not know his health condition. Russia had yet to respond to Japan’s requests for access to him, he added.
“We’ll do everything we can for the protection of the Japanese citizen,” Kihara said.
Despite the many outstanding issues between Japan and Russia, the two neighbouring countries need to maintain communication, he said, adding that Tokyo would take appropriate steps to protect its national interests.
The Sakhalin region includes Sakhalin Island and the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, which Russia controls and Japan claims.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi protested Putin’s August visit to Iturup, describing it as another setback for relations already strained by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Tokyo imposed additional economic sanctions on Moscow earlier this month over the war.
The Soviet Union seized the Kuril Islands from Japan in the final days of World War II. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their wartime hostilities.