Japan Demands Russia Free Journalist Detained on Suspected Espionage Charges

Tokyo is calling for the immediate release of a Japanese journalist held in Sakhalin for over two weeks. Moscow accuses him of espionage.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Friday demanded that his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, immediately release a Japanese journalist detained in Sakhalin. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' summit in the United States.

The journalist works for the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced in mid-October that he had been arrested in Sakhalin, in Russia's Far East, on espionage charges.

According to Japan's Foreign Ministry, Motegi strongly urged Russia to free him. The ministry said the meeting was the first between the two foreign ministers in about five years. During the talks, Motegi also asked Moscow to take "positive" steps toward peace in Ukraine.

Tokyo had already responded. A day after the detention, the Japanese government summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolai Nozdrev to request information about the case. Later, Japanese embassy officials in Russia made a first consular visit to the detained journalist and demanded his release.

The case comes amid sharp tensions between the two countries. Relations worsened after Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit in August to Iturup island in the southern Kurils. Japan claims the territory and condemned the trip, prompting an exchange of accusations with the Russian government. Ties between Tokyo and Moscow have deteriorated since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.