Russia: Japanese newspaper wants to release its correspondent from prison

The correspondent of the newspaper “Hokkaido Shimbun” was taken away by FSB men

The Russian intelligence agency FSB had arrested the Japanese journalist Yuki Imai on charges of espionage, a court ordered two months in custody. The Japanese government has already protested. Now the newspaper “Hokkaido Shimbun”, for which the journalist works, has commented in more detail on the case.

“Hokkaido Shimbun” is a local newspaper, for many years they maintain several locations in Russia and report from there. For our coverage of the entire region around Hokkaido, it is important to be present on the ground and to convey information from neighboring Russia. ‘

Russia now accuses the newspaper’s correspondent of collecting information at the direction of a Japanese intelligence agency in order to endanger Russia’s national security. To the accusation, the “Hokkaido Shimbun” writes that it is a news organization independent of the government. “We do not report on the orders of the government,” it says: “Our reporter worked with a Russian journalist visa, and press freedom and journalistic activity should be respected.” ‘

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The newspaper goes on to say that it cannot accept that images showing the journalist’s arrest were widely published without giving the specific reasons. Russia’s FSB had made scenes of the arrest public on the Internet.

At the moment, we attach great importance to ensuring the safety of our reporter. Through diplomatic channels, we are urgently seeking clarification and information, said Hokkaido Shimbun: We will continue to do everything possible to secure his early release. ‘

This is not the first time a foreign correspondent in Russia has been captured by the FSB. Now Putin’s security authorities have apparently taken a new potential hostage. This shows how much inhibition has now fallen against correspondents of the Western world, according to circles of European diplomats in Moscow. Read more about this here.

The Japanese journalist is said to have collected material about the participation of residents of the Kuril Islands in the Russian war against Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 2022. The island group belonging to the province of Sakhalin is home to just over 20,000 people.

The Kuril Islands are a group of fish-rich islands in the Pacific Ocean that conquered the Soviet Union from Japan at the end of World War II. Since then, Moscow and Tokyo have been arguing over who owns the four southernmost Kuril Islands, which is why there is still no peace treaty. Some islands of the Kuril Islands are located only a few kilometers from the Japanese island of Hokkaido and are of military importance for Russia.

In August, a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the island of Iturup had worsened relations between the two neighboring states. Tokyo protested and described the so-called Northern Territories as "original Japanese territory".