Russia arrests Japanese journalist on alleged espionage

Russian authorities have charged a Japanese journalist for espionage, accusing him of gathering information related to Moscow's defence capabilities for Tokyo.

Key points

• In 2023, Russia detained The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges and afterwards sentenced him to 16 years in prison.
• In 2019, Moscow detained an unnamed Japanese journalist from Kyodo News on suspicion of attempting to obtain military secrets.
• The Kuril islands sit between Hokkaido in northern Japan and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.
• Imai has been taken to Moscow and will be remanded until 12 December, before the trial begins, according to Interfax, another Russian news agency.
• Gershkovich, a US citizen, was in 2024 published in a prisoner swap, the largest exchange since the Cold War took place.

In practice, the journalist, identified as Yuki Imai from the Hokkaido Shimbun, was detained in Russia's far eastern region of Sakhalin, a day before he was due to leave the country.

For context, the arrest comes as tensions worsen between the two nations after Russian leader Vladimir Putin visited the disputed Kuril Islands, asserted by both countries, in August.

Japan has not commented at length on the arrest. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi remarked authorities are "verifying the facts" and will "respond appropriately" thereafter.

Russian authorities allege that Imai had "acted on the instructions of national intelligence service" to gather information regarding residents involved in a special military operation on the Kuril Islands, state news agency TASS documented.

For context, the Kuril islands sit between Hokkaido in northern Japan and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The archipelago is administered by Russia, but four of the southernmost islands are asserted by Japan. It calls them the Northern Territories.

Those convicted of espionage in Russia can be jailed up to 20 years in prison.

"Tokyo's attempts to use its correspondents in Russia, who hold foreign journalist status, to gather information aimed at undermining our country's security are regrettable, " Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova remarked in an official note on Tuesday.

"We cannot help but point out that today's incident is not an isolated one, " she observed, but did not name other journalists or media outlets that are allegedly involved in similar activity.

Imai's published work has covered Russia's relations with North Korea and life in Sakhalin.

Hokkaido Shimbun ran a report on the arrest without naming the reporter, but did not comment further on the incident.

Russia and Japan have been locked in a dispute over the Kurils for decades, and it is the main reason Moscow and Tokyo did not sign a peace treaty after World War Two.

Takaichi slammed Putin's visit in August – his first-ever to the islands – saying it "wounded the feelings of the Japanese people" and is "incompatible with Japan's consistent position on the Northern Territories". Moscow dismissed her criticism as "politically inappropriate" and "legally unfounded".

Over the years, attempts to resolve the territorial dispute have created little progress. Bilateral ties have additionally remained frosty, with Japan imposing sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Last week, Moscow again angered Tokyo for requesting the extradition of the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This person is Japanese.

Meanwhile, the president Tomoko Akane, along with other ICC authorities, has been placed on Russia's wanted list since 2023 after the court issued an arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes in Ukraine.

In 2019, Moscow detained an unnamed Japanese journalist from Kyodo News on suspicion of attempting to obtain military secrets. The journalist, who was picked up in Vladivostok, was ordered to leave the country within 72 hours.

Taken together, the developments around russia arrests Japanese journalist on alleged espionage point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.