Japan demands consular access for detained Hokkaido Shimbun journalist

Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto visited the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand early consular access for a Hokkaido Shimbun journalist currently detained in Russia. The journalist was apprehended by the FSB on suspicion of espionage in Sakhalin Oblast and subsequently transferred to Moscow.

Despite the 1967 Japan-Soviet Consular Convention stipulating that consular meetings must occur within four days of arrest or detention, no meeting has taken place after one week in custody. Embassy staff attempted to visit the detention center in Moscow on October 16, but were denied access.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara expressed that the failure to grant access within the treaty-mandated timeframe is ‘extremely regrettable.’ The Japanese government is continuing to urge Russia for the immediate release of the citizen, humanitarian consideration, and fair treatment.