Tokyo, Oct. 14 (Jiji Press)–Japan has asked the Russian government to provide prompt information about a Japanese reporter detained by authorities in Russia and ensure humane, fair and impartial treatment, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Wednesday. He made the remarks at a parliamentary committee meeting after Russia’s Federal Security Service said Tuesday that a male reporter for Hokkaido Shimbun Press, a newspaper publisher in the northernmost Japan prefecture, had been detained in Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East on suspicion of espionage. The minister said that the Japanese government is checking details and that Japan would take every possible measure to protect its nationals. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference Wednesday that the Japanese government learned of the detention through an announcement by the Russian side. He added that Japanese officials had not yet been able to make contact with the reporter. Regarding the current state of Japan-Russia relations, Kihara said that the government would respond with the perspective that Russia is a neighboring country and that it is important to maintain appropriate bilateral relations. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
