Japanese Journalist Arrested In Russia On Spying Charges, Faces Up To 20 Years In Jail

Russia has arrested Japanese journalist Yuki Imai, a correspondent for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, on espionage charges, accusing him of gathering sensitive information about the country’s defence capabilities for Japanese intelligence amid worsening relations between Moscow and Tokyo.

The Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s domestic security agency, said the 34-year-old journalist was detained in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the main city on Sakhalin Island, shortly before he planned to leave the country. He was subsequently flown to Moscow, where a court ordered him to remain in pre-trial detention on October 13.

According to Russian authorities, Imai allegedly collected information about residents of the Kuril Islands who had been mobilised or volunteered to fight in Ukraine. The FSB accused him of gathering and storing information related to Russia’s defence capabilities for intelligence purposes that could threaten national security.

The case has been registered under Article 276 of Russia’s Criminal Code, which deals with espionage and carries a potential prison sentence of up to 20 years. The allegations have not been independently established.

Russian state television broadcast footage showing masked security officers detaining a man in what appeared to be a hotel room. The footage showed officers handcuffing him, examining his belongings and escorting him onto a plane. The Hokkaido Shimbun said it was verifying details of the case and that the journalist’s safety was its priority.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Tokyo of using foreign correspondents to gather intelligence and said the detention would further strain bilateral relations. Japan has sought clarification from Moscow and protested the detention, according to reports.

The arrest comes amid a longstanding territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, controlled by Russia but claimed by Japan, which calls the southern islands the Northern Territories. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Iturup, one of the disputed islands, in August, triggering objections from Tokyo.

The Soviet Union seized the islands in the final days of World War II, and the dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty.

Relations have deteriorated further since Japan joined Western sanctions against Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The detention also recalls the 2023 arrest of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison before being released in a major prisoner exchange in August 2024.