Japan urges Russia to ensure fair treatment of journalist Yuki Imai, arrested on suspicion of espionage, with charges carrying up to 20 years in prison
TOKYO: Tokyo said Wednesday it had urged Moscow to ensure “fair and impartial treatment” of 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”.
Moscow’s FSB security service said a Japanese national, whom it did not name, was arrested on the Far East island of Sakhalin.
It said the person 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,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.
The Hokkaido Shimbun said in a statement that it was aware of the announcement by Russian authorities but was “still confirming the details”.
“Ensuring the safety of the journalist is our top priority, and we are responding accordingly,” it said.
Japan has not been able to contact the individual and did not know about the arrest until the official announcement, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press briefing.
Territorial dispute
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 December 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.
In 2023, US journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on espionage charges, later sentenced to 16 years in prison before being released in a 2024 prisoner swap.