The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) made public a video that it said shows the moment a correspondent from the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Simbun was taken into custody. According to the FSB’s public relations centre, the footage captures the arrest and also displays the contents of the journalist’s suitcase.
The FSB stated that the journalist was detained in a hotel room located in the Sakhalin region. The arrest took place on a date cited by the agency as 13 October 2023. The location of the detention was specifically a hotel within this Russian far‑eastern territory.
Inside the detained journalist’s suitcase, the FSB video reportedly revealed several documents. These papers bore labels in Russian that read ‘for official use’. The agency noted that the documents were labeled ‘for official use’ in Russian.
Inside the detained journalist’s suitcase, the FSB video reportedly revealed several documents.
The FSB claimed that the correspondent had been gathering and storing information connected to Russia’s defense capabilities. According to the agency’s statement, the purpose of this collection was to pass the data onward to a Japanese intelligence body, with the intention of using it against Russian security interests.
The FSB alleged the journalist was collecting and storing information related to Russia’s defense capabilities for transmission to a Japanese intelligence agency.