Tokyo urges Russia to ‘immediately’ release detained Japanese journalist

Saadet Gökce

20 October 2026•Update: 20 October 2026

Tokyo on Tuesday urged Russia to “immediately” release a Japanese journalist detained on suspicion of espionage, according to Kyodo News.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi demanded the journalist’s release and called the denial of consular access “regrettable,” it said.

A treaty provides for the right to consular access within four days of a person being taken into custody, said Motegi.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) last week accused a correspondent for the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk bureau of Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun of collecting and storing information on Russia’s defense capabilities for Japanese intelligence. It alleged that the information could be used against Russia’s security.

The FSB said it opened a criminal case against the journalist, while Moscow’s Lefortovo District Court ordered his arrest pending the investigation.

Relations between Japan and Russia have deteriorated sharply since Moscow launched its war against Ukraine in February 2022, prompting Tokyo to impose sanctions on Russia.