A Japanese journalist has been arrested on suspicion of spying for Japan’s intelligence services after allegedly gathering information about Russia’s defence capabilities, according to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The journalist, who works for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was detained on Sakhalin Island while preparing to leave Russia, the FSB said in a statement on Tuesday.
The agency, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that the unnamed man had collected sensitive information on behalf of a Japanese intelligence agency.
According to the FSB, the journalist was subsequently flown to Moscow and detained. He appeared before a judge at the Lefortovo District Court, who ordered him to remain in custody for two months while the investigation continues.
The FSB also released footage showing masked agents in black clothing arresting the man in a hotel room before escorting him onto a plane bound for the Russian capital.
The arrest comes amid rising tensions between Moscow and Tokyo, particularly over their longstanding territorial dispute involving the Kuril Islands.
Territorial dispute fuels tensions
Sakhalin region includes Sakhalin Island and the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, which Japan calls the Northern Territories.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, one of the disputed islands, in August, prompting strong objections from Japan.
The Soviet Union seized the Kuril Islands from Japan during the final days of World War II. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their wartime hostilities.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi described Putin’s visit as “incompatible with the Japanese position on the Northern Territories” and “absolutely unacceptable”.
She said the visit dealt another blow to already strained relations between the two countries, which have also been affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow responded by summoning Japan’s ambassador to protest what it described as “anti-Russia” remarks by Takaichi and other Japanese officials.
Russia insisted that its sovereignty and jurisdiction over the southern Kuril Islands remained “absolutely unshakable”.
Decades of diplomatic negotiations have failed to resolve the territorial dispute, while Moscow has strengthened its military presence on the islands in recent years.
Russia has detained foreign nationals in past cases
Russia has arrested several foreign nationals in recent years on various criminal charges, with some later released through prisoner exchanges involving the United States and other Western countries.
One of the largest exchanges since the Cold War took place in August 2024, when Moscow released American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, former US Marine Paul Whelan and several Russian dissidents as part of a multinational agreement that freed 24 people.
The latest arrest adds to tensions between Russia and Japan as the two countries continue to disagree over the disputed islands. The allegations against the journalist have yet to be independently established.
