Tokyo (AFP) – Tokyo said Wednesday it had urged Moscow to ensure “fair and impartial treatment” of a Japanese journalist who was arrested by Russia on suspicion of espionage.

Russia’s foreign ministry identified the reporter Tuesday as Yuki Imai from the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, with a spokeswoman saying he was accused of “conducting espionage activities on Russian territory”.

Moscow’s FSB security service said a Japanese national, whom it did not name, was arrested on the Far East island of Sakhalin.

It said the person had worked for Japanese intelligence to collect information about Russia’s defences.

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

“The Japanese embassy … in Moscow and the Consulate General in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk lodged a request with the Russian authorities for the prompt provision of information, as well as for humanitarian consideration and fair and impartial treatment,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said.

The Hokkaido Shimbun said in a statement that it was aware of the announcement by Russian authorities but was “still confirming the details”.

“Ensuring the safety of the journalist is our top priority, and we are responding accordingly,” it said.

Japan has not been able to contact the individual and did not know about the arrest until the official announcement, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press briefing.

…