Japan Protests Russia’s Detention of Journalist Accused of Spying

Japan Protests Russia’s Detention of Journalist Accused of Spying - The New York Times

Skip to contentSkip to site index

Asia Pacific

Log in

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Today’s Paper

* Home
* + U.S.
+ International
+ Canada
+ Español
+ 中文

Asia Pacific|Japan Protests Russia’s Detention of Journalist Accused of Spying

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/world/asia/japan-protest-russia-detention-journalist.html

*
*
*

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

Supported by

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Japan Protests Russia’s Detention of Journalist Accused of Spying

Tokyo summoned Russia’s ambassador after a Japanese reporter was arrested in Russia’s far east and accused of collecting military intelligence.

Listen · 5:00 min

*
*
*

!A building with a facade of light-colored panels and dark glass. Power lines and trees are visible in the foreground along the street.

*The Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper headquarters in Sapporo, Japan on Wednesday. A journalist from the newspaper was arrested in Russia and accused of spying.Credit...Kyodo, via Reuters*

By Javier C. Hernández

Reporting from Tokyo

Oct. 14, 2026, 7:29 a.m. ET

See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google

The Japanese government on Wednesday protested Russia’s detention of a Japanese journalist accused of spying, calling on Moscow to provide “humane, fair, and impartial” treatment to the reporter.

The protest came after Russia’s main security agency said on Tuesday that the authorities had detained a Japanese journalist, accusing him of collecting intelligence on Russia’s military capabilities. The journalist, whose name has not been released, worked as a foreign correspondent for the Hokkaido Shimbun, a newspaper based on Japan’s northernmost island.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Russia’s ambassador to Japan, Nikolay Stanislavovich Nozdrev, to lodge a “strong protest.” The ministry said in a statement that Japan had received “no explanation whatsoever regarding the detained national.”

Russia’s Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., said in a statement on Tuesday that the journalist was arrested in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, on the Pacific island of Sakhalin in eastern Russia. It said the journalist had been transported to Moscow, where he was remanded into pretrial custody by the Lefortovo District Court.

The F.S.B. accused the journalist of collecting data on the number of local recruits taking part in the war in Ukraine, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

The incident was the latest flare-up in tensions between Russia and Japan. In August, President Vladimir V. Putin made his first ever visit to islands claimed by both Moscow and Tokyo, prompting an angry rebuke from Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

---

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

---

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Related Content

*
*
*
*
*
*

*
*
*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT

Site Index

Site Information Navigation

* © 2026 The New York Times Company
+ NYTCo
+ Contact Us
+ Accessibility
+ Work with us
+ Advertise
+ T Brand Studio
+ Privacy Policy
+ Cookie Policy
+ Terms of Service
+ Terms of Sale
+ Site Map
+ Canada
+ International
+ Help
+ Subscriptions
+