Photo/Illutration Officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) move to detain a reporter from The Hokkaido Shimbun Press. (From video released by FSB on Oct. 13)

Russia is trying to make an example out of a Japanese reporter who was detained simply for doing his job. Such actions are absolutely unacceptable, and we call on Russian authorities to release the reporter and disclose information about the case.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained the reporter with The Hokkaido Shimbun Press at its Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk bureau on suspicion of spying. He was then transported to Moscow and charged.

Under Russian criminal law, a conviction for spying carries a penalty of between 10 and 20 years in prison.

FSB officials said the reporter was gathering information about soldiers from the Kuril Islands (the Russian name for the Northern Territories and Chishima islands) who were deployed for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The officials also claimed the reporter had been looking into Russian defense capabilities on behalf of a Japanese intelligence agency.

But the authorities have presented no clear evidence of the suspected crime. And the Russian argument contains logical flaws because Japanese media companies do not work on behalf of the government.

The FSB released video of its officers entering a hotel room and handcuffing the reporter. He was detained a day before his scheduled departure from Russia.

A Russian court granted authorities about a two-month detention period for the journalist.

Although Japanese reporters in the past have been temporarily detained in Russia and expelled, an arrest is a highly unusual development.

Russia appears to have arbitrarily set up a foreign media reporter as a spy for the purpose of detaining him. If that is the case, Moscow’s intention was to stifle reporting--and that is unacceptable.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has detained other foreign media journalists.

In 2023, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal was given a 16-year prison sentence despite his denials of espionage allegations. He was eventually released through a prisoner exchange.

Japan’s relationship with Russia has been rocky since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Moscow severely criticized Tokyo for going along with Western nations to impose sanctions against Russia.

In August, Putin for the first time visited Etorofu, one of the islands of the disputed Northern Territories, angering Japan.

And in early October, after the Japanese government decided on additional sanctions, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said, “We will implement the appropriate countermeasures.”

The Japanese reporter was detained soon thereafter.

The ministry spokeswoman then said bilateral cooperation had been damaged because of the Japanese government’s “anti-Russian policy.”

Using the detention of a reporter as a bargaining chip to increase diplomatic pressure is unforgivable.

A bureau director at Japan’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest over the reporter’s arrest and asked for fair and just treatment based on humanitarian concerns.

The safety and health of the reporter must be confirmed immediately.

Every effort, including talks through informal channels, should be taken to secure the reporter’s safety and his release as soon as possible.

—The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 16

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