Japan demands apology from Russia after diplomat detained by FSB agents

Japan wants a formal apology from Russia after Federal Security Service FSB agents blindfolded and interrogated a Japanese diplomat, before giving him 48 hours to leave the country.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that a Japanese consul Motoki Tatsunori, who was arrested in Vladivostok and questioned by Russian agents on Monday for alleged espionage.

The consular officer was blindfolded from start to finish, blindfolded from start to finish, with his hands and head held down, and subjected to intimidating interrogation, Hayashi said at a press conference Tuesday.

Tatsunori was arrested and declared by Russia's Foreign Ministry as a persona non grata, according to Russian news agencies.

Hayashi condemned Tatsunori's detention in the far eastern Russian city, saying it was extremely regrettable and unacceptable and there was absolutely no evidence of illegal activities as claimed by the Russian side. Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori summoned Russian ambassador Mikhail Galuzin and lodged a formal protest, demanding an official apology, Hayashi said.

He said that the Japanese government would be taking appropriate measures.

Tensions between Tokyo and Moscow have been exacerbated by Japan's support of Ukraine after Russia invaded and the dispute between Japan and Russia over the sovereignty of islands north of Japan that were captured by Soviet forces after Japan surrendered to Allied forces at the end of World War II.

Tatsunori had been working at the Japanese Consulate General in the Russian city of Vladivostok, a major trading port bordering China and North Korea, when he was accused by Russia of receiving classified information. A Japanese diplomat was arrested red-handed while receiving classified information in exchange for money, about Russia's cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region, the FSB said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.

The report said that the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation in Primorsky Territory stopped the espionage action of Motoki Tatsunori, Consulate General of Japan in Vladivostok.

According to a press briefing Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tatsunori would leave Russia by Wednesday for his own safety.