Tokyo, Oct. 13 (Jiji Press)–Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, said Tuesday that it has detained a male reporter for Hokkaido Shimbun Press, a newspaper publisher in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, on suspicion of espionage. The FSB claims that he was gathering information on mobilized soldiers and others at the direction of a Japanese intelligence agency. The reporter, a Japanese national, was transferred to Moscow, where a court ordered him held for two months, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. According to the FSB, the reporter collected and stored information on the number of mobilized soldiers and volunteer fighters who went to the front for the invasion of Ukraine from the Kuril Islands, or the Chishima Islands off Hokkaido plus four Russian-controlled northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Japan. He was detained in Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East as he was preparing to leave the country. If convicted of espionage, a serious crime, he could face up to 20 years in prison. The FSB released video footage of the detention, showing investigators handcuffing the reporter in what appeared to be a hotel room where he was staying and searching his belongings. Hokkaido Shimbun’s bureau in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk also appears to have been searched. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it regretted Japan’s attempts to use a Japanese correspondent to gather information aimed at undermining Russia’s security. It called on Japan to abandon its hostile measures against Russia. The Japanese government said it has asked Russia through diplomatic channels to confirm the facts and ensure fair and impartial procedures. According to the Hokkaido Shimbun’s website, the newspaper has bureaus in Moscow and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. On Wednesday, Japan time, the newspaper said, “We are aware of the information but are still confirming the details.” It added, “We are responding with the safety of our reporter as our top priority.” In Russia, a reporter for Japan’s Kyodo News was detained in Vladivostok in the country’s Far East in December 2019, for allegedly attempting to obtain military secrets, but was released about five hours later and left Russia the next day. In 2023, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal was detained on suspicion of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison, but was released in a prisoner exchange in 2024. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
