Japan embassy official meets reporter nearly 2 weeks after Russia detention

Photo taken on Oct. 14, 2026, shows the headquarters of the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper in Sapporo, northern Japan, after Russia's security agency said a day earlier that it had detained a Japanese journalist with the newspaper on Sakhalin in the Russian Far East on suspicion of spying. (Kyodo)

TOKYO - A Japanese Embassy official in Russia conducted a consular visit Monday with a Japanese journalist detained in the country nearly two weeks ago, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The ministry said the Japanese national, who had been transferred to Moscow from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East right after being detained, had no health issues.

Russia's security agency, the FSB, said on Oct. 13 that a correspondent for the Sapporo-based Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper was detained in Sakhalin on suspicion of espionage.

It said he was collecting information under instructions from a Japanese intelligence service, a claim flatly denied by the daily. The Japanese government has denied engaging in spying activities.

The embassy in Moscow declined to elaborate on what the journalist told the official about the espionage allegations against him. It also said it does not know when another visit will take place.

The embassy added that the journalist will meet separately with a lawyer chosen by the Japanese newspaper.

The journalist has been remanded in custody until Dec. 12, while the FSB continues its investigation.

Japan will continue urging Russia to "immediately release the Japanese national and ensure humanitarian consideration and fair and impartial treatment," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Japanese government had unsuccessfully sought for days to secure a consular visit following the individual's detainment. A bilateral treaty provides for the right to consular access within four days when one country takes a national of the other into custody.