Japan urges Russia to release journalist after confirming well-being

Japanese embassy officials in Moscow met Monday with a Hokkaido Shimbun journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges and confirmed that he was in good health, the government said.

“The Japanese government intends to do its utmost to protect the journalist,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday. “This includes strongly urging the Russian government to ensure his immediate release, provide humanitarian consideration, and guarantee his fair and impartial treatment,”

The journalist, identified by Russian authorities as Yuki Imai, had been based at the Hokkaido Shimbun’s bureau in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk before being detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and transferred to Moscow, where he is to remain in custody until Dec. 12.

Russian authorities accused Imai of collecting defense-related information shortly before he was due to leave the country. Japan has strongly denied the allegations.

The detention comes amid growing tensions between Russia and Japan. In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Etorofu for the first time, prompting protests from Tokyo. Etorofu is one of four Russian-controlled islands off Hokkaido that Japan claims as the Northern Territories.

Japan seeks the return of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai Islands, which were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II and remain under Russian control. Russia says the issue is settled.

Tensions further escalated earlier this month when Japan extradited a Russian national to Germany over suspected involvement in a ransomware attack. The individual is believed to be a member of the international hacking group Qilin.

Following Monday’s meeting with Imai, the Japanese government said it would continue to urge the Russian government to immediately release him, and to treat him fairly and humanely.

Domestic and international journalism organizations and watchdog groups, including the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have also issued statements of concern for Imai and protest over Russia’s actions.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass condemned Russia’s detention of Imai in a post on X, calling it “nothing short of a gross attempt to intimidate and muzzle independent journalism.”

RSF notes that since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, almost all independent media have been banned, blocked and/or declared “foreign agents” or “undesirable organisations” and that everyone is under military censorship.