Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto on Tuesday called for the immediate release of a Japanese journalist detained by Russian authorities on suspicion of espionage, the Japanese Embassy in Moscow has revealed. The request was made during a meeting held at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow between Muto and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. The talks were held upon a proposal by the Japanese side, according to the embassy. The embassy said that the two sides agreed to maintain communications from the viewpoint of appropriately managing bilateral relations. Meanwhile, the Russian ministry said that Rudenko stated his views on various issues between the two nations, claiming that Japan needed to abandon a hostile policy against Moscow for the two sides to resume dialogue. On Monday, the embassy held its first consular meeting with the reporter for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper’s Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk bureau in the Sakhalin region in Russia’s Far East since he was detained on Oct. 13. He is being held at a detention center in eastern Moscow. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said, “We regard the consular meeting as a first step.” “We strongly urge the immediate release (of the reporter), and call for humanitarian considerations and fair, impartial treatment,” Motegi said. Also on the day, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said, “We’ll make strong requests, including those on an immediate release.” A consular treaty between Japan and the former Soviet Union, and related documents all stipulate that consular notifications must be issued within one to three days of a person being detained, and a consular meeting be held within four days. It took 13 days for such a meeting to be held for the reporter. “It’s regrettable that (the Russian side) went back on its word on the consular meeting,” an official of the Japanese Foreign Ministry said. Still, the official added, “For now, we’ll view the meeting as a positive development.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
