Russia detains Japanese reporter Yuki Imai on espionage allegation

Russia has detained Japanese journalist Yuki Imai on suspicion of espionage, escalating an already tense relationship with Tokyo. The Federal Security Service said the Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent was arrested in the Sakhalin region before a planned departure and transferred to Moscow, where a court ordered two months of pretrial custody.

The FSB alleged that Imai collected information about Russia’s defence capabilities for a Japanese intelligence agency. Russian authorities released video of the arrest, but the accusation has not been tested in court and no independent evidence establishing espionage was publicly available. Hokkaido Shimbun said it was confirming the circumstances.

Japan’s government protested through diplomatic channels, requested access and called for humane treatment. Moscow said the case further damaged relations and accused Tokyo of using a journalist for intelligence work. Japan has not accepted that account.

The arrest follows renewed tension over the southern Kuril Islands, which Russia administers and Japan claims as its Northern Territories. President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup in August, prompting a sharp Japanese objection. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty ending their Second World War hostilities, adding a broader diplomatic consequence to the journalist’s case.