Russia detains Japanese journalist, alleging espionage

Russia detains Japanese journalist, alleging espionage - The Washington Post

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Russia detains Japanese journalist, alleging espionage

The arrest comes as bilateral relations have sharply deteriorated over the war in Ukraine and the territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands.

October 14, 2026 at 7:15 a.m. EDTToday at 7:15 a.m. EDT

4 min

*The Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper headquarters in Sapporo, Japan. (Kyodo/Reuters)*

By Mary Ilyushina

and

Chie Tanaka

Russia has detained a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage, accusing the reporter of gathering information on the country’s defense capabilities.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova identified the reporter as Yuki Imai, from the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper.

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