Japan denied carrying out espionage in Russia on Thursday after Moscow announced the arrest of a Japanese journalist on spying allegations, with Tokyo saying it had been unable to contact the detained reporter. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi rejected the Russian claim and said protecting Japanese nationals was a focus of the government’s efforts. The denial came as Japanese officials sought access to the journalist, while details of the accusations against him remained unclear to Tokyo.

The dispute concerns Yuki Imai, whom Russia’s foreign ministry identified on Tuesday as a Japanese newspaper reporter accused of espionage. On Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan had still not established contact with him. The case comes against a wider backdrop of journalist detentions: a committee tracking such cases says Russia is holding at least 30 journalists in connection with their work. That figure describes the broader situation, rather than the circumstances of Imai’s arrest.

Asked by reporters about the Russian allegations, Takaichi said: “There is no such fact.” She paired that categorical rejection with an emphasis on the importance of protecting Japanese nationals. Her comments set out two distinct elements of Tokyo’s response: denying that Japan was conducting spying activities and emphasising the protection of Japanese nationals. The government’s stated position on espionage was firm, even as its account of the individual case remained limited by the information available to it.

Read more: North Korea reports tests of two submarine-launched cruise missile types

Russia’s foreign ministry presented a different account. A spokeswoman said Imai was accused of “conducting espionage activities on Russian territory.” That allegation is the basis Moscow has publicly given for the arrest, while Tokyo says it does not yet know the details. The two governments’ statements leave an important distinction: Russia has accused Imai of espionage, while Japan has denied conducting spying activities and says the details of the individual allegation remain unclear.

Japan summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against the detention, and its Foreign Ministry called for “fair and impartial treatment.” That diplomatic response accompanied the effort to arrange a meeting with Imai. Tokyo thus combined an objection to the arrest with a call for fair treatment of the detained journalist. Access remained an unresolved issue on Thursday, with Kihara saying officials were working to secure a meeting “as soon as possible.”

The sequence of Japan’s statements also shows the limits of its knowledge about the detention. On Wednesday, Kihara said the government had learned of the arrest only through Moscow’s official announcement. On Thursday, he said officials had not been able to contact the reporter. Taken together, those statements indicate that Tokyo’s initial response was being made without direct communication with Imai. They also distinguish the Russian announcement of the case from Japan’s subsequent efforts to establish contact.

Read more: Milei backs Trump, casting U.S. midterms as consequential for the West

Takaichi acknowledged that uncertainty while maintaining Japan’s denial. She said differences between countries’ domestic laws meant the government did not yet know the details of what Russia was describing as an allegation. She nevertheless made clear that Japan would communicate its position firmly. Her remarks did not resolve the disagreement over the accusation; rather, they underscored the gap between Tokyo’s rejection of espionage activity and the questions it still had about the specific case presented by Moscow.

The arrest follows other Russian detentions of citizens from countries Moscow describes as “unfriendly”, with those individuals accused of working for Western intelligence services. That background places Imai’s case within a wider pattern of allegations involving foreign nationals, although it does not establish the circumstances of his detention. The committee’s count of at least 30 journalists held in connection with their work provides another measure of the broader environment. It should not be read as a tally of foreign reporters or of espionage cases.

Fiona O’Brien, the committee’s director for Europe and Central Asia, expressed concern about the detention and warned against using journalists as leverage in international disputes. “Journalists must not be used as leverage in wider geopolitical disputes,” she said in a statement. Her quoted remarks focused on the risks to journalists amid tensions between governments, rather than supplying further details of Russia’s accusation. They added a press-freedom concern to a case that Japan has so far addressed through denial, diplomatic protest and efforts to obtain access.

Japanese officials said they were seeking a meeting with Imai as soon as possible. Kihara’s account makes clear that arranging contact remained unfinished business on Thursday, while Takaichi’s comments left the substance of the allegations unresolved. Japan’s stated intentions were to convey its position firmly and focus its efforts on protecting Japanese nationals. For now, Moscow’s accusation and Tokyo’s denial remain opposed, with direct access to the detained journalist still being sought.