Moscow’s foreign ministry on Tuesday identified the reporter as Yuki Imai of Japan’s Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper. (TASS video screengrab)TOKYO: Japan denied on Thursday conducting spy activitiy in Russia, following Moscow's arrest of a Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage.

"There is no such fact," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters when asked about the Russian allegations, adding that "the protection of Japanese nationals is extremely important right now, and we intend to focus our efforts on that".

Russia has arrested several citizens of what it calls "unfriendly" countries in recent years, accusing them of working for Western intelligence services.

Moscow's foreign ministry identified the reporter Tuesday as Yuki Imai from the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, with a spokeswoman saying he was accused of "conducting espionage activities on Russian territory".