Russian authorities have arrested a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage, accusing him of gathering information about Russia’s defence capabilities for Japan’s intelligence service.
The journalist, identified as Yuki Imai of the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was detained in Russia’s far-eastern Sakhalin region a day before he was due to leave the country. Russian media reports say he was subsequently flown to Moscow, where a court ordered his pre-trial detention.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, authorities allege that Imai acted on the instructions of Japan’s national intelligence service to gather information about people involved in what Moscow describes as a special military operation on the Kuril Islands.
Russia’s Federal Security Service released footage showing three masked men in black uniforms entering a hotel room and handcuffing a man. The video later shows the man being escorted onto a plane before appearing in a cage during a court proceeding in Moscow.
The footage did not specify when the journalist was detained or when the court hearing took place. Russian news agency Interfax reported that Imai would remain in custody until December 12, ahead of his trial. Those convicted of espionage in Russia face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticised what she described as attempts by Japanese correspondents working in Russia to collect information that could undermine the country’s security.
“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,” Zakharova said in a statement on Tuesday.
She added that the incident was not isolated but did not identify other journalists or media organisations allegedly involved in similar activities.
Japan said it was seeking further information about the arrest and had not been able to contact Imai. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press briefing that the Japanese government learned of the detention through the announcement and had yet to establish contact with the journalist.
Hokkaido Shimbun also confirmed it was investigating the reports but did not identify the journalist in its own coverage of the arrest.
“We are still confirming the details. Ensuring the reporter’s safety is our top priority,” the newspaper said in response to questions from the BBC.
Imai’s published work has covered Russia’s relations with North Korea and life in Sakhalin, according to the report.
The arrest comes amid renewed tensions between Moscow and Tokyo over the disputed Kuril Islands, which lie between Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Russia administers the archipelago, but Japan claims four of its southernmost islands, referring to them as the Northern Territories.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed islands in August, prompting criticism from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. She said the visit, described as Putin’s first to the islands, “wounded the feelings of the Japanese people” and was “incompatible with Japan’s consistent position on the Northern Territories”.
Moscow dismissed her remarks as “politically inappropriate” and “legally unfounded”.
The territorial dispute has persisted for decades and remains a major obstacle to a formal peace treaty between Russia and Japan following World War Two. Relations have also been strained by Japan’s sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Tensions rose further last week after Moscow reportedly requested the extradition of International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national. Russia placed Akane and other ICC officials on its wanted list in 2023 after the court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Russia has previously detained foreign journalists on espionage allegations. In 2023, authorities arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, a US citizen, and later sentenced him to 16 years in prison. He was released in a prisoner exchange in 2024.
In 2019, Russian authorities also detained an unnamed Japanese journalist from Kyodo News in Vladivostok on suspicion of attempting to obtain military secrets. The journalist was ordered to leave Russia within 72 hours.
Boluwatife Enome
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