The Hokkaido Shimbun reporter collected information about the participants in the special military operation

This Japanese citizen collected and stored information about the number of Basij fighters and volunteer participants in special military operations among the residents of the Kuril Islands and intended to pass it on to the relevant Japanese authorities.

Moscow, October 13. /TASS/. An FSB official said in a video statement that a reporter from the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun, who was detained on suspicion of espionage, collected information about participants in special military operations among residents of the Kuril Islands.

The official said: "Our painstaking work has conclusively shown that the Japanese citizen used his journalistic position as a cover to go beyond his legal limits. He collected and stored information on the number of Basij fighters and volunteer participants in special military operations among the residents of the Kuril Islands, and intended to pass it on to the relevant Japanese authorities, based on the instructions of the National Intelligence Service."