1st LD Writethru: Russia detains Japanese correspondent on espionage charges
MOSCOW, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese correspondent detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage had admitted to people close to him that he was in with Japanese intelligence, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Tuesday.
The statement was based on a video provided to local media by the FSB's public relations center.
The correspondent worked for the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the administrative center of Russia's Sakhalin Region. He was detained in the region Tuesday on suspicion of espionage, the FSB said earlier.
In the video, an FSB operative said the agency had decided to halt the correspondent's alleged unlawful activities after examining his intentions and what it described as activity unusual for an accredited journalist.
The operative claimed the correspondent had collected and stored information the numbers of mobilized personnel and volunteer participants in the special military operation among residents of the Kuril Islands.
The FSB said the transfer of the collected information to a foreign state could cause real damage to Russia's defense capabilities.
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