▲ Iturup Island in the Kuril Islands, part of Russia's Sakhalin Oblast (File Photo)
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested a Japanese journalist in the Far Eastern Sakhalin Oblast on suspicion of espionage, Tass and Interfax news agencies reported on the 13th local time.
The FSB has detained and is investigating a reporter affiliated with Japan's Hokkaido Shimbun, who was officially registered as a correspondent with the Russian Foreign Ministry and stationed in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the capital of Sakhalin Oblast.
The FSB claimed it confirmed that the journalist, acting under instructions from Japanese intelligence agencies, had collected and stored information related to defense capabilities with the intent of harming Russia's security.
The journalist was arrested just before departing from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, transferred to the Russian capital of Moscow, and placed in detention by a court decision.
However, the journalist's specific identity has not been disclosed.
This incident occurred amid escalating tensions between Russia and Japan surrounding the Kuril Islands, which are under Russian administrative control as part of Sakhalin Oblast.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup Island, one of the four Kuril Islands, last August, the Japanese government strongly protested.
Japan calls these islands the Northern Territories and has claimed sovereignty over them.
On the 2nd, Japan decided on additional sanctions banning navigation, repairs, and the provision of insurance for 35 vessels belonging to the "shadow fleet," which Russia uses as a channel to export crude oil while evading sanctions.
This marks the first sanctions against Russia since the launch of the Sanae Takaichi cabinet, and Russia has threatened retaliation.
(File Photo: Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.