Japanese Journalist in Russia Accused of Gathering Military Information

In the Sakhalin Region, the FSB detained a Japanese journalist from the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper.

The Public Relations Center of the Russian security service stated that he was allegedly gathering information about Russia’s defense capabilities. He is accused of espionage, according to TASS.

The FSB released a video showing masked officers storming into a hotel room, pinning the man to the floor, and handcuffing him.

The detainee was transported to Moscow. The Lefortovo Court authorized his detention for at least two months. The exact dates of the detention and the court hearing were not specified.

Based on the charges brought against him, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

The security service has not disclosed the identity of the arrested man. The Interfax news agency, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the individual in question is Yuki Imai.

He is expected to be held in custody at the Lefortovo detention center.

In a video released by the FSB, a security service officer claims that the Japanese journalist was acting on a mission from his country’s intelligence agency.

According to the Russian intelligence agency, the journalist was collecting and storing information on the number of conscripts and volunteers from the Kuril Islands participating in the war against Ukraine.

In recent years, Russia has arrested several citizens of countries it calls unfriendly, accusing them of collaborating with Western intelligence agencies.

Earlier this year in Japan, an officer of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, who was operating undercover and posing as a Ukrainian citizen, was exposed.

Russian military intelligence has established a network of agents in Japan who facilitate the supply of sanctioned technologies to Russia.