Japan urges Russia for ‘impartial treatment’ of arrested journalist

Tokyo said Wednesday it had urged Moscow to ensure “fair and impartial treatment” for a Japanese journalist who was arrested by Russia on suspicion of espionage.

Russia’s foreign ministry identified the reporter Tuesday as Yuki Imai from the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, with a spokeswoman saying he was accused of “conducting espionage activities on Russian territory”.

The FSB security service said a Japanese national, who it did not name, was arrested on the Far East island of Sakhalin and had worked for Japanese intelligence to collect information about Russia’s defences.

Russia has arrested several citizens of what it calls “unfriendly” countries in recent years, accusing them of working for Western intelligence services.

“The Japanese embassy … in Moscow and the Consulate General in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk lodged a request with the Russian authorities for the prompt provision of information, as well as for humanitarian consideration and fair and impartial treatment,” said foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi.

The Hokkaido Shimbun said in a statement that it was aware of the announcement by Russian authorities but it was “still confirming the details”.

“Ensuring the safety of the journalist is our top priority, and we are responding accordingly,” it said.

The FSB said it had “opened a criminal case against the Japanese national”, and that he had been placed in pre-trial detention, TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies reported, citing the agency.

Russian media reported he would remain in custody until Dec 12.

“Attempts by Tokyo to use its correspondents in Russia… to gather information aimed at undermining the security of our state is regrettable,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, adding this was “not an isolated case”.

Moscow and Tokyo have been locked in a territorial dispute for decades over the status of a string of islands in the Pacific Ocean, off the northeast coast of Japan and to the southwest of Russia’s Sakhalin region.

The Kuril Islands – called the “Northern Territories” in Japan – have been under Russia’s control since the end of World War II, when they were seized by the Soviet Union.

The FSB published a video showing masked officers storming a hotel room, pushing a man to the floor and handcuffing him.

He was flown to Moscow, where a court ordered he be held in pre-trial detention. It did not say when the arrest or court hearing occurred.

The charges carry up to 20 years in prison.

Russia has arrested a number of foreign citizens in recent years on charges widely dismissed as baseless.

In 2023, US journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges, later sentenced to 16 years in prison before being released in a 2024 prisoner swap.

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.