TOKYO - Japan has asked Russia to promptly provide information regarding the detention of a Japanese journalist on Sakhalin in the Russian Far East on spying allegations, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Wednesday.
"We are making requests...for humanitarian considerations, and fair and just treatment" if the journalist has, in fact, been detained, Motegi told a Diet committee, with the development clouding the outlook for bilateral ties already frayed by a territorial dispute and Japan's participation in sanctions against Russia in the wake of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"As we clarify the circumstances leading to the detention, the health condition and the current state of the individual, we will take necessary actions, including making further requests to the Russian side, to ensure thorough protection of Japanese nationals," he said.
Japan's Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev earlier that day and urged Moscow to provide information about the case and ensure fair treatment of the journalist, the ministry said.
Kimitake Nakamura, director general of the ministry's European Affairs Bureau, said Japan strongly protests Russia's detention of the Japanese national without providing an explanation to the Japanese side and its issuance of "unilateral" statements about the case, according to the ministry.
Nakamura demanded prompt access to the Japanese national, the ministry said. The envoy responded that he will convey the Japanese government's stance to the Russian government, it said.
Russia's security agency announced Tuesday the detention of a male journalist with the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, known for its extensive coverage of issues related to disputed islands off Hokkaido.
The Hokkaido Shimbun Press said the safety of its journalist was a top priority, while noting that details were being confirmed.
The development came as Russia's security authorities are stepping up pressure on journalists from countries, including Japan, that have imposed sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine.
According to Tass news agency, the reporter, posted at the newspaper's bureau in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on the Russian island, was allegedly working for Japanese intelligence and collecting information related to Russia's defense capabilities.
Citing Russia's principal security agency, the FSB, Tass said he was placed in custody after being transported to Moscow, while the agency's Investigative Directorate has opened a criminal case against him. Russian media said a Moscow court had approved his detention for two months.
Espionage carries a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years.
In March 2023, the FSB detained a journalist from the U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of spying, claiming he was trying to obtain classified information.
The journalist denied the charges but was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July 2024. He returned to the United States in August the same year as part of a large-scale prisoner swap between the United States and Russia.
Late last year, a Russian man living in Khabarovsk in the Far East who was cooperating with Japanese media was detained on charges of treason. His communication app lost network connection at the end of December, and according to his relatives, he is still missing.
In the Russian Far East, where there are not so many foreigners, surveillance of people from countries that are not friendly, such as Japan, is especially strict.
In December 2019, a Kyodo News reporter was detained in Vladivostok. He was released after about five hours but was urged by authorities to leave the country within 72 hours and did so the next day. Kyodo News explained that he had been conducting "normal reporting activities."
In September 2022, a consul at the Japanese Consulate General in Vladivostok was temporarily detained for alleged spying. The Japanese government argued that the diplomat was not involved in any illegal activities.
