Russia has arrested Japanese journalist Yuki Imai, a correspondent for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, on suspicion of espionage and gathering intelligence on the country's defense capabilities for Japanese intelligence services.
According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the journalist was detained in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, in the Sakhalin region of the Far East, a day before he was due to leave the country, and then transferred to Moscow. The FSB did not name him. He was identified as 34-year-old Yuki Imai in the case record of Moscow's Lefortovsky District Court, which on October 13 ordered him held in custody. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Arrest footage released by the FSB and circulated by Russian state media shows officers pinning the journalist to the ground and handcuffing him, then forcing him to unlock his laptop in front of them. He appears surprised when they accuse him of espionage. The video also shows him being escorted onto an aircraft and later brought to a Moscow courthouse.
According to the FSB, the journalist collected and stored information relating to Russian defense capabilities with the intention of passing it to Japanese intelligence. The agency claims he gathered data on residents of the Kuril Islands who were mobilized into the Russian military or volunteered to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Imai has been visiting Russia since 2014. His reporting has covered Russia's ties with North Korea and life on Sakhalin.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Tokyo of exploiting the status of foreign correspondents to gather security intelligence. She said Japan is attempting to use journalists licensed to operate in Russia to obtain information that could harm the country's security, and added that the affair is expected to further strain relations between Moscow and Tokyo.
Japan is demanding clarification on the circumstances of the arrest. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the country's representatives in Russia have contacted local authorities to obtain information about the journalist's condition and to ensure he receives fair and humane treatment. The Hokkaido Shimbun said it is investigating the circumstances of the incident and has made his safety its top priority.
The arrest comes against the backdrop of a longstanding territorial dispute. Russia and Japan are divided over control of the Kuril Islands, which have been under Moscow's control since the end of World War II and are claimed in part by Tokyo. Tensions escalated after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the island of Iturup in August, his first visit to the chain, prompting a strong Japanese protest.
Relations between the countries have also deteriorated following Japan's support for Ukraine and its joining of Western sanctions against Russia. Moscow defines Japan as an unfriendly country, and the arrest could add a significant point of friction between the two sides.
The affair recalls the 2023 arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia on espionage charges. Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in prison and was released in August 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries.
