Russian FSB arrests Japanese journalist in Sakhalin... “Spy charges”

(Istanbul = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-ho = The Russian Federal Security Service arrested a Japanese journalist suspected of spying in Sakhalin Oblast, Far East, Tass and Interfax news agencies reported on the 13th (local time).

The FSB has arrested and is investigating a reporter from Japan's Hokkaido Shimbun who was officially registered as a correspondent with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was stationed in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the Sakhalin capital.

The FSB claimed that it had confirmed that this reporter had been collecting and storing information related to national defense capabilities for the purpose of harming Russian security under the instructions of the Japanese intelligence agency.

This reporter was arrested in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk just before leaving the country, transported to the Russian capital, Moscow, and detained by a court decision.

However, the specific identity of this reporter was not disclosed.

This incident occurred at a time when tensions between Russia and Japan were recently increasing over the Kuril Islands, which belong to Sakhalin Province in Russia's administrative districts.

When President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island, one of the four islands of the Kuril Islands, last August, the Japanese government strongly opposed it. This is because Japan has claimed sovereignty over these islands, calling them ‘Northern Territories.’

On the 2nd of this month, Russia decided to impose additional sanctions, prohibiting operation, repair, and insurance provision on 35 ships belonging to the 'shadow fleet', a channel for exporting crude oil to avoid sanctions. This is the first sanctions against Russia since the inauguration of Sanae Takaichi's cabinet, and Russia has predicted retaliation.