Star Metro - Japan sends senior diplomat to Russia over detained journalist

Russian authorities said last week that a Japanese national had been arrested on its far eastern island of Sakhalin, near a disputed cluster of islands.

The individual was later identified as Yuki Imai from the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, who faces accusations of "conducting espionage activities on Russian territory".

Japan denies the allegations, but has not yet been able to secure Imai's release.

Kimitake Nakamura, Japan's top diplomat for Europe, met Lyudmila Vorobyova, the head of the department at the Russian foreign ministry dealing with much of East Asia, on Tuesday, according to the Japanese foreign ministry.

"We lodged a request... that calls for the earliest possible realisation of consular access to the Japanese national detained in Russia, as well as the individual's immediate release," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a regular media briefing on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has denied that Japan conducts spying activities in Russia, while Imai's newspaper has stressed its independence from the government.

Tokyo has also summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to lodge a protest, while the foreign ministry has urged Moscow to give him "fair and impartial treatment".

Russia has arrested several citizens of what it calls "unfriendly" countries in recent years, accusing them of working for Western intelligence services.

Kihara said the meeting was held also to discuss tense bilateral relations.

The countries have a decades-old dispute over the status of a string of islands in the Pacific Ocean, off the northeast coast of Japan and to the southwest of Sakhalin.

Japan has also placed sanctions on Russia over its aggression in Ukraine.

"Japan–Russia relations are in a difficult state," Kihara said without elaborating further.

"Precisely for that reason, it is necessary for the diplomatic authorities to engage in exchanges on the various issues," he said.

F.Leblanc--SMC