Japan demands release of national in meeting with Russia’s Lavrov

Atlanta – Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Saturday that he had strongly demanded the immediate release of a Japanese journalist detained in Russia during his talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Atlanta.

Speaking to reporters in the U.S. city, Motegi said he exchanged frank opinions with Lavrov during their talks Friday on the sidelines of a Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting. But Motegi declined to disclose details, saying that the safety of the Hokkaido Shimbun reporter, who is being held on espionage allegations, could be affected.  

“The meeting took place at a very delicate time as we need to provide protection to the Japanese national as soon as possible. I’d like to refrain from sharing details of our exchange,” Motegi said.

Japan-Russia relations “are in a difficult situation,” he said. “It’s extremely important to continue communication and patiently engage (with Russia),” he added.

The rare high-level meeting between the two countries came amid strained ties over Ukraine and a long-running territorial dispute.

Russia said this month it had detained a Japanese journalist in its far eastern Sakhalin region on suspicion of espionage, marking a new low in bilateral relations that have worsened in recent months.

The case adds to long-running tensions between Russia and Japan, which have yet to sign a formal World War II peace treaty due to a territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories.

Those tensions heightened when Japan joined Western sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine, with Russia regarding Japan as an “unfriendly” country. The two countries, however, still do business, with Japan a purchaser of Russian liquefied natural gas.

According to a statement by the Japanese government, Motegi also “strongly called on Russia to take positive actions toward achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.”

The statement said the ministers “would maintain communication, even amid the severe situation in Japan-Russia relations.”

Russia’s Interfax news agency cited Russia’s Foreign Ministry as saying that “a brief talk between Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi” was held at Japan’s request.

“The Russian side emphasized that the resumption of full-fledged interstate dialogue requires Tokyo to give up unfriendly policies,” it quoted the ministry as saying.

Earlier, foreign ministers from the G20 skipped a traditional group photo ahead of their meeting in Atlanta after European representatives objected to the presence of Russia over the war in Ukraine.