Japan summons Russian ambassador over journalist’s detention — Interia

Japan has summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation — an aggressor state — following the detention in the Far East of a correspondent for the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun. Tokyo lodged a protest and demanded that the Russian side ensure humane and fair treatment of the detainee, as well as provide the Japanese side with an opportunity to contact him immediately, Interia reports.

Tokyo’s demands

Hitoshi Nakamura, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s European Affairs Bureau, expressed a strong protest over the detention of a Japanese citizen and Russia’s unilateral publication of statements without providing explanations to the Japanese government. According to Japan’s foreign ministry, Russian Ambassador Nozdryov replied that he would convey Tokyo’s position to his country.

On Tuesday, the Federal Security Service of the aggressor state Russia reported the detention of the journalist in Sakhalin Oblast. The FSB claims that he allegedly collected information about Russia’s defense capabilities on instructions from Japanese intelligence.

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Protest over visit to Etorofu

Nakamura also lodged a protest over a visit by a delegation from China’s Heilongjiang province to Etorofu Island, which is the subject of a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia. The Japanese side called the visit unacceptable.

Russian authorities reported that the delegation, which included Chinese businesspeople, visited Etorofu, known in Russia as Iturup, to explore opportunities for joint projects. The disputed islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories and Moscow calls the Southern Kurils, include Etorofu, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai archipelago. Japan believes that the Soviet Union illegally occupied these territories after the country’s surrender in World War II, while Russia calls the establishment of control over them justified.