Hokkaido Shimbun journalist Yuki Imai was arrested on Sakhalin, an island in Russia's Far East, on suspicion of espionage. (TACC video)TOKYO: Japanese officials have met a journalist detained in Russia for the first time since his arrest on spying accusations earlier this month, Tokyo has said.
Officials from Japan's embassy in Russia "conducted a consular meeting" with the reporter and "confirmed that the individual has no health issues", Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement late Monday.
Russian authorities had earlier said journalist Yuki Imai had been arrested on Sakhalin, an island in Russia's Far East, on suspicion of conducting espionage activities.
"The Government of Japan strongly urges the Government of the Russian Federation to release the Japanese national immediately and to extend humanitarian consideration as well as fair and impartial treatment," the foreign ministry statement said.
