A Japanese newspaper correspondent has been taken into custody in Russia over allegations that he collected sensitive military information for Japan’s intelligence service.
The journalist, Yuki Imai, works for Hokkaido Shimbun and was reportedly arrested in the Sakhalin region in Russia’s Far East shortly before he was due to leave the country. Russian media reports said he was later transferred to Moscow, where a court ordered that he remain in detention ahead of trial.
Japan’s government said it was trying to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident but had not been able to contact the reporter.
Russia’s Federal Security Service accused Imai of obtaining information about people involved in a special military operation on the Kuril Islands. The state news agency TASS reported that authorities alleged he “acted on the instructions of Japan’s national intelligence service”.
The Kuril archipelago lies between Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido and Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. Although Russia exercises control over the islands, Japan claims four islands in the southern part of the chain, which it calls the Northern Territories.
The FSB released a video showing masked men in black clothing entering a hotel room, restraining a man and handcuffing him. Subsequent scenes showed the individual being escorted onto an aircraft and later appearing inside a courtroom cage in Moscow.
The agency did not disclose the date of the arrest or the court appearance. Interfax reported that Imai would remain in custody until December 12, ahead of his trial.
Espionage convictions in Russia can attract prison terms of up to 20 years.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, accused Tokyo of exploiting the presence of Japanese correspondents in Russia to obtain information that could threaten 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,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
Zakharova further suggested that the case was part of a wider pattern, although she provided no names or details of other journalists or media organisations allegedly involved.
“We cannot help but point out that today’s incident is not an isolated one,” she noted.
Japan has so far offered a limited response. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the government learnt of the detention through the announcement by Russian authorities and had not established contact with Imai.
The journalist has previously reported on Moscow’s relations with North Korea and living conditions in Sakhalin. His employer said it was still verifying the circumstances of the case and prioritising his welfare.
“We are still confirming the details. Ensuring the reporter’s safety is our top priority,” Hokkaido Shimbun said in response to the BBC’s enquiries.
The arrest comes against the backdrop of a decades-long disagreement between Moscow and Tokyo over the Kuril Islands. The territorial dispute remains a major obstacle to the signing of a peace treaty formally ending the state of war between the two countries after World War Two.
Relations have remained strained, particularly since Japan joined other countries in imposing sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi previously condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the disputed islands, saying it “wounded the feelings of the Japanese people” and was “incompatible with Japan’s consistent position on the Northern Territories”.
Moscow dismissed her criticism as “politically inappropriate” and “legally unfounded”.
Tensions have also been fuelled by a recent Russian request for the extradition of International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese citizen. Akane and other ICC officials have been on Russia’s wanted list since 2023, after the court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
The latest detention follows other high-profile espionage cases involving foreign journalists in Russia. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, an American citizen, was arrested in 2023 and later sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges. He was freed in a prisoner exchange in 2024, described as the largest swap since the Cold War ended in 1991.
In 2019, Russian authorities also detained an unnamed Kyodo News journalist in Vladivostok over suspicions of attempting to obtain military secrets. He was subsequently ordered to leave the country within 72 hours.
