Japanese journalist detained in Russia during attempt to obtain secret data

A Japanese citizen was detained in December in Vladivostok during an attempt to obtain secret data about Russia’s military potential, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported.

"On December 25, 2019, a Japanese citizen was detained in Vladivostok by the Russian law enforcement during an attempt to obtain secret data about Russia’s military potential in the Far East," the ministry said.

According to the ministry, he was given 72 hours to leave Russia. "On the next day, the Japanese national, who was in Russia on a journalist visa, left for his homeland," the statement informs.

Moscow has lodged a protest to Japanese diplomats over actions by a citizen of Japan who tried to gather secret data on Russia’s military potential, the Foreign Ministry said.

"A protest was lodged to Japanese diplomats accredited in Russia over the inadmissibility of these actions. The Foreign Ministry of Russia summoned a counsellor-envoy of the Japanese embassy in Moscow and handed him a note of protest over the unlawful acts by the Japanese citizen," TASS cited the ministry as saying.