Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, October 13, that a Japanese man who serves as a Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent had been detained on suspicion of espionage in Sakhalin Oblast in the Far East (NHK, Jiji Press, 47NEWS, Nikkei). The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that he may have been moved to Moscow and arrested. The Sankei Shimbun reported that the Federal Security Service arrested a reporter stationed in Sakhalin and moved him to Moscow. TV Asahi reported that he had been indicted for espionage. Headlines distributed by two regional papers said a court had approved two months of pretrial custody. Russian authorities explained that the man had been gathering information on mobilized soldiers, and the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Japan was mobilizing journalists to collect information (47NEWS). Reuters, The New York Times and the Financial Times also reported the detention. The Japanese government said it is checking the information (47NEWS).
If a reporter is detained on suspicion of espionage while on assignment, reporting on the ground itself becomes difficult. According to The New York Times, the man had been covering the recruitment of military personnel in the Far East. What counted as reporting, and what was treated as information gathering? If the line stays blurred, reporters from other foreign media could be affected too. Detention, arrest and indictment are different legal stages, and the outlets' wording is not uniform.
There is no direct effect. But anyone planning to travel to or stay in Russia should check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' overseas safety information. For those whose work involves reporting on Russia or local news coverage, it is an occasion to review their organization's safety guidelines.
Treating newsgathering as espionage is an attack on freedom of the press. The Japanese government should press hard for confirmation of the facts, early access to the man and his release.
The Russian side claims that collecting information related to military mobilization touches on national security. But the grounds for the charge have not been shown, and a third party cannot verify them.
Today's number is “2 months.” It is the length of custody a court is said to have approved, and it appears only in headlines distributed by regional papers. There are three things to watch: whether the Japanese government is allowed to meet the man, whether the Russian side shows the grounds for the charge, and how the Hokkaido Shimbun explains. Much remains unconfirmed, and there is little at this stage that supports a firm conclusion.
NHK · Jiji Press · 47NEWS · Yomiuri Shimbun · Nikkei · Sankei Shimbun · TV Asahi · Okinawa Times · Saga Shimbun · Shimotsuke Shimbun · Reuters · The New York Times · Financial Times (Oct. 13. The detention from NHK, Jiji Press and 47NEWS, the transfer to Moscow from the Sankei Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun, custody and indictment from only one or two outlets)
Russia Detains Hokkaido Shimbun Correspondent on Spy Charges, Moves Him to Moscow; Japanese Government Says It Is “Checking”
State-run TASS reported it on the 13th. The Russian side says he had been gathering information on mobilized soldiers. The Japanese government says it is still verifying the facts.
Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported on the 13th that a Japanese man who serves as a Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent had been detained on suspicion of espionage in Sakhalin Oblast, in Russia's Far East (NHK, Jiji Press, 47NEWS). The Sankei Shimbun reported that the Federal Security Service arrested the man and moved him to Moscow, and the Yomiuri Shimbun also reported that he may have been transferred and arrested. TV Asahi reported that he had been indicted for espionage, but other outlets have not confirmed the details of the indictment procedure. Headlines distributed by two regional papers said a Russian court had approved two months of pretrial custody. Russian authorities explained that the man had been gathering information on mobilized soldiers (headline distributed by regional papers). The New York Times reported that the security service said it had detained a reporter who was covering the recruitment of military personnel in the Far East. The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Japan was mobilizing journalists to collect information (47NEWS).
The Japanese government said it is checking the information on the detention (47NEWS). The man's name and age, the date he was detained and the specific grounds for the espionage charge have not been disclosed, as far as we could confirm. We also found no statement from the Hokkaido Shimbun in the articles we checked. The Financial Times placed this detention as following a series of detentions that have been criticized as politically motivated. Does the charge Russia cites target the reporting itself? No material that a third party can verify has emerged yet. Detention, arrest and indictment are legally separate stages, and the reports do not use the words consistently.