Moscow’s FSB safety service earlier mentioned a Japanese nationwide was arrested on the Far East island of Sakhalin – close to a disputed cluster of islands – however didn’t identify the person.
It mentioned the individual had labored for Japanese intelligence to gather details about Russia’s defences.
Moscow and Tokyo have been locked in a territorial dispute for many years over the standing of a string of islands within the Pacific Ocean, off the northeast coast of Japan and to the southwest of Russia’s Sakhalin area.
The Kuril Islands – known as the Northern Territories in Japan – have been beneath Russia’s management because the finish of World Struggle II, after they have been seized by the Soviet Union.
Chief Cupboard Secretary Minoru Kihara mentioned Wednesday that Japan had not been in a position to contact the person and didn’t know concerning the arrest till the official announcement from Moscow.
The Hokkaido Shimbun mentioned in a press release that it was conscious of the Russian announcement however was “nonetheless confirming the main points”.
“Guaranteeing the protection of the journalist is our high precedence, and we’re responding accordingly,” the newspaper mentioned.
