Russia arrests Japanese journalist on spying charges

The Hokkaido Shimbun journalist is accused of collecting information on Moscow's defence capabilities for Tokyo. The journalist, identified as Yuki Imai from the Hokkaido Shimbun, was detained in the far eastern region of Sakhalin Russian authorities have arrested a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage, accusing him of gathering information related to Moscow's defence capabilities for Tokyo. The journalist, identified as Yuki Imai from the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was detained in the far-eastern Sakhalin region, a day before he was due to leave Russia. He was flown to Moscow where a court ordered he be placed in pre-trial detention, Russian reports say. Japan says it is still seeking details about the arrest, and has not been able to contact Imai.

The arrest comes as tensions worsen between the two nations after Russian leader Vladimir Putin visited the disputed Kuril Islands, claimed by both countries, in August. Russian authorities allege that Imai "acted on the instructions of [Japan's] national intelligence service" to gather information about people involved in a special military operation on the Kuril Islands, state news agency TASS reported. The Kuril islands sit between Hokkaido in northern Japan and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The archipelago is administered by Russia, but four of the southernmost islands are claimed by Japan, which calls them the Northern Territories. Russia's FSB security agency published