Japan Demands Release of Journalist Detained in Russia

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday during a G20 meeting in Atlanta to demand the immediate release of Yuki Imai. Imai, a reporter for the Hokkaido Shimbun, was detained on October 13 in Russia's Sakhalin region on suspicion of espionage. The Russian Federal Security Service accused the journalist of collecting information on Russian defense capabilities for Japanese intelligence.

Following the initial detention, Imai was transferred to Moscow, where the Lefortovo District Court ordered an arrest pending investigation. Japanese embassy staff conducted a consular meeting with the reporter on Monday. During the talks in Atlanta, Motegi also urged Russia to take positive actions toward a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine.

Lavrov responded that the resumption of full interstate dialogue requires Japan to abandon its "unfriendly policies," a designation stemming from Tokyo's support for Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine. While the Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged the meeting, its official announcement omitted any mention of the detained reporter. Bilateral relations remain strained by these sanctions and a long-standing territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, though the two nations continue to trade in Russian liquefied natural gas.