TOKYO: Japan on Wednesday urged Russia to ensure the “fair and impartial treatment” of a Japanese journalist arrested on suspicion of espionage, as Tokyo sought information about the case and prepared to lodge a formal protest with Moscow.
Russian authorities identified the journalist as Yuki Imai, a reporter for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, and accused him of conducting espionage activities on Russian territory.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said the Japanese national had been arrested on the Far Eastern island of Sakhalin for allegedly collecting information about Russia’s defence capabilities on behalf of Japanese intelligence.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Tokyo had been unable to contact the journalist and was unaware of his arrest until Russian authorities officially announced it.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Japan’s embassy in Moscow and consulate general in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk had requested information from Russian authorities, along with humanitarian consideration and fair treatment for the detained journalist.
Japanese media reported that the foreign ministry planned to summon Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to lodge a protest.
TV Asahi reported that Tokyo would also seek the journalist’s early release, while Kyodo News said Japan would urge Moscow to provide information about the case and ensure he was treated fairly.
The Hokkaido Shimbun said it was aware of the announcement by Russian authorities but was still verifying the details. “Ensuring the safety of the journalist is our top priority, and we are responding accordingly,” the newspaper said in a statement.
The FSB said it had opened a criminal case against the Japanese national and placed him in pre-trial detention, Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported.
Russian media said he would remain in custody until 12 December. The espionage charges carry a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The FSB released a video showing masked officers entering a hotel room, forcing a man to the floor and handcuffing him. The journalist was subsequently flown to Moscow, where a court ordered his detention pending trial. Authorities did not specify when the arrest or court hearing took place.
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Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticised Tokyo, saying attempts to use correspondents in Russia to gather information that could undermine national security were regrettable. She added that the case was not an isolated incident.
The arrest comes amid strained relations between Moscow and Tokyo, which have been locked in a territorial dispute over a group of Pacific islands near Japan’s north-eastern coast and south-west of Russia’s Sakhalin region.
The Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, have remained under Russian control since the Soviet Union seized them at the end of the Second World War.
The arrest follows other espionage cases involving foreign nationals in Russia. In 2023, US journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested on similar charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison before being released in a prisoner exchange in 2024.
