Russia's Detention of Japanese Reporter Comes amid Bilateral Tensions

Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)--Russia's detention of a Japanese reporter in Sakhalin in the country's Far East came amid tensions between the two countries that heightened following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The news came on Tuesday when Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, said that a reporter for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper in northern Japan was detained on suspicion of espionage.

There are concerns that the detention of the male reporter assigned to the newspaper's bureau in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk may be prolonged.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply after Tokyo imposed sanctions on Russia over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia designated Japan as an "unfriendly nation."

In August this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first trip to one of the four Russian-controlled northwestern Pacific islands claimed by Japan. Russia has also ramped up its rhetoric against Japan, raising views that Moscow no longer gives consideration to Tokyo's position.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]