Russia accuses Japan of using journalists to undermine its security after detention of Hokkaido Shimbun reporter

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it regretted what it described as Japanese efforts to use accredited journalists to collect information aimed at undermining Russian security.

The statement followed the detention of a Hokkaido Shimbun correspondent in Russia's Sakhalin region on suspicion of espionage. Russia's Federal Security Service alleged that the journalist gathered information about the country's defense capabilities on behalf of Japanese intelligence.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged Tokyo to abandon what she called "hostile steps" toward Russia and warned that such actions would further damage bilateral relations.

The journalist was transferred to Moscow, where a court ordered him held in pre-trial detention. The allegations have not been independently verified.

Relations between Russia and Japan remain strained over Tokyo's sanctions following the war in Ukraine and their unresolved territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, which Japan calls the Northern Territories.