Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Thursday that her country had not engaged in any espionage activity in Russia, after Russian authorities detained a Japanese journalist on suspicion of involvement in espionage, stressing that Tokyo would focus its efforts on protecting its citizens.
Takaichi denies Russian allegations
Responding to a question about the Russian allegations, Takaichi told reporters: “There is no such thing,” adding that “protecting Japanese citizens is of paramount importance at present, and we intend to focus our efforts on that”. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the detained journalist was Yuki Imai, who works for Hokkaido Shimbun. A ministry spokeswoman said he was accused of “conducting espionage activities on Russian territory”.
In recent years, Russia has detained several citizens of countries it classifies as “unfriendly”, suspecting them of working for Western intelligence agencies. Tokyo summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest over the journalist’s detention, while Japan’s Foreign Ministry called for “fair and impartial treatment” for him.
Domestic laws vary from country to country, so we do not yet know the details of what they call an allegation
The agency said the detainee had been working for Japanese intelligence and collecting information about Russia’s defence capabilities. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said his country had been unable to contact the individual and had not learnt of the detention until after Moscow issued its official announcement.
Imai’s newspaper pledges to protect journalist
In a statement, Hokkaido Shimbun said it was aware of the Russian announcement but was “still checking the details”, stressing that “ensuring the journalist’s safety is our top priority, and we are dealing with the situation accordingly”. Relations between Russia and Japan are marked by severe tensions, particularly because of a dispute over islands in the Pacific Ocean, off Japan’s north-eastern coast and south-west of Russia’s Sakhalin region.
The Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the “Northern Territories”, have been under Russian sovereignty since the end of the Second World War, when the Soviet Union took control of them.
