Japan denies spying in Russia, says it can’t contact detained journalist

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Japanese authorities do not engage in espionage in Russia, responding to the detention of Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent Yuki Imai in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

“Nothing of the sort happened. Right now, protecting Japanese citizens is extremely important, and that is where we intend to focus our efforts,” Takaichi said, as quoted by The Japan Times.

She said Japanese authorities do not yet know exactly what Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) is accusing the journalist of.

“Every country has different laws, so we don’t yet know the details of what they are calling the charges. Nevertheless, Japan will firmly state its position,” the prime minister said.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the Japanese government had not yet been able to contact Imai but was working to arrange a meeting with him “as soon as possible.”

On October 13, the FSB said it had detained Japanese journalist Yuki Imai in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The agency alleged that, at the direction of Japanese intelligence, he had gathered data on the number of Kuril Islands residents who had been mobilized or had volunteered to fight in the war in Ukraine. After his detention, the Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador to Japan, Nikolai Nozdrev.

Imai had recently published reports on State Duma elections and the unveiling of a monument in Khabarovsk commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory over Japan. He had also written about strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea. On his most recent trip, he visited Primorsky Krai, with stops in Vladivostok and Nakhodka and a visit to a children’s arts center there. He interviewed Russian-speaking residents of Japan and reported on life in the Russian Far East, the Soviet-Japanese War, and friendship between Russia and Japan.