Russian authorities have charged a Japanese journalist with espionage offences after arresting him for allegedly collecting information on the nation’s defence capabilities, in the latest sign of rising tensions between Moscow and Tokyo.
Yuki Imai, a reporter for Hokkaido Shimbun, was detained in the far eastern region of Sakhalin, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
The Russian intelligence agency FSB published a video showing masked personnel storming into a hotel room and pinning Mr Imai to the floor before handcuffing him.
Mr Imai, 34, is known for reporting on Russia’s relations with North Korea as well as life on Sakhalin. He has been visiting Russia since 2014 and his most recent visit began in the summer of this year.
His recent work includes articles on the State Duma elections and the unveiling of a monument in Khabarovsk commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Japan.
Mr Imai is not the first Japanese journalist to face arrest in Russia. A journalist with Kyodo News was detained over allegations of espionage in 2019. He was accused of trying to obtain classified materials about Russia’s military capabilities in the Far East and ordered to leave the country within 72 hours.
In 2023, Russia arrested Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, also on spying charges. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison before being released the following year in a prisoner swap that saw Vadim Krasikov – a convicted FSB hitman – returned to Russia from Germany.
Mr Imai was flown to Moscow and presented before a court, which ordered him held in pre-trial detention until 12 December, according to the Interfax news agency.
Espionage charges in Russia carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
The journalist worked at his newspaper’s bureau in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city on Sakhalin, and was due to leave the country a day before he was arrested.
His arrest is the latest sign of rising tensions over Japan’s support for Ukraine in the war against Russia and a reignited sovereignty dispute over islands in the Kuril chain near Sakhalin, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.
The archipelago is administered by Russia, but Tokyo claims four of its southernmost islands closest to Japanese territory, the nearest being just 4km from Hokkaido.
In August, Russian president Vladimir Putin sparked protests from Japan by visiting the islands for the first time.
Russian authorities alleged Mr Imai had “acted on the instructions of the national intelligence service” to gather information about people involved in a special military operation on the Kuril islands, TASS reported.
“Tokyo's attempts to use its correspondents in Russia who hold foreign journalist status to gather information aimed at undermining our country's security are regrettable," Ms Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We cannot help but point out that today's incident is not an isolated one," she added, without naming other journalists or media outlets allegedly involved in similar activities.
Japan’s foreign ministry urged Russia to extend “fair and impartial treatment” to the detained reporter.
A ministry official told the AFP news agency that the Japanese embassy in Moscow and the consulate general in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk had “lodged a request for the prompt provision of information as well as for humanitarian consideration and fair and impartial treatment”.
Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said Tokyo was "verifying the facts" and would "respond appropriately" thereafter.
Hokkaido Shimbun said it was aware of the announcement by Russian officials but was “still confirming the details”.
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