A view of the arrest of a person, identified by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) as a Japanese journalist for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper and accused of gathering information on Russia's defence capabilities, at an unidentified location, in this still image taken from a video aired by Rossiya-24 (RU24) state TV channel and released Oct13, 2026. Rossiya-24/Handout via REUTERS
Published : 13 Oct 2026, 10:41 PM
Updated : 13 Oct 2026, 10:41 PM
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained a Japanese journalist on suspicion of gathering information about the country’s defence capabilities, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday.
The journalist works for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper and was detained in the far eastern Sakhalin region before he was due to leave Russia, Interfax reported, citing the FSB. He was later transferred to custody in Moscow.
Russian state television broadcast footage showing a man lying on the floor and handcuffed by three masked men in black uniforms. A voice in the footage told him he was suspected of spying.
The broadcaster also showed the man boarding a plane accompanied by two FSB officers and later appearing inside a cage at a Moscow court. The court authorised his detention for nearly two months.
Russia considers Japan an “unfriendly” country because Tokyo has joined Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
Japan’s embassy in Moscow did not answer phone calls outside business hours.
The two countries have never signed a formal peace treaty to end World War Two, with an unresolved territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands — known in Japan as the Northern Territories — remaining a key obstacle.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited one of the disputed islands in August, prompting an outcry in Japan. Tokyo has said it will continue to implement sanctions against Russia and support Ukraine.
Another prominent case involving a foreign journalist in Russia was the 2023 arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. A Russian court convicted him of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison before he was released in an East-West prisoner exchange in August 2024.