Japanese Consul Restrained & Interrogated By FSB

September 28, 2022 By Omal J

(Image Credit Google)

CNN recently reported that after Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives allegedly blindfolded, interrogated, and then gave a Japanese diplomat 48 hours to leave the country, Japan is demanding a formal apology from Russia. On Monday, Russian operatives allegedly detained and questioned Motoki Tatsunori, a Japanese consul located in Vladivostok, for possible espionage, according to Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Japan claims Russia' blindfolded and restrained' its consul

According to CNN, Hayashi said during a news conference on Tuesday, "The consular officer was taken away in a state of immobility, blindfolded from start to finish, with his hands and head held down, and subjected to intimidating interrogation." Furthermore, the Russian news agencies revealed that the Russian Foreign Ministry detained and labeled Tatsunori "persona non grata." Japanese Consul

However, Hayashi stated there was "absolutely no evidence of illegal activities as claimed by the Russian side." He also condemned Tatsunori's imprisonment in the far eastern Russian city, saying it was "extremely regrettable and unacceptable," reported CNN. Therefore, Takeo Mori, the Vice Foreign Minister, summoned Mikhail Galuzin, the Russian Ambassador, and lodged a formal protest, demanding an official apology, revealed Hayashi. He also added that the government would take "appropriate measures."

Why the tension between Russia and Japan?

Japan's assistance to Ukraine following Russia's invasion and the dispute between Japan and Russia over the sovereignty of islands to the north of Japan that the Soviet forces captured after Japan's surrender to the Allies at the end of World War II fanned the flames between Tokyo and Moscow.

What's More

Russia charged the Japanese consul, Tatsunori, of "receiving classified information" while working at the Japanese Consulate General in Vladivostok, a major business hub bordering North Korea and China. Moreover, CNN reported a statement by the FSB carried by Russian news agencies that they detained a Japanese diplomat "red-handed while receiving classified information in exchange for money about Russia's cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region." Thus, the FSB in the Primorsky Territory "stopped the espionage action of Motoki Tatsunori, Consul of the Consulate General of Japan in Vladivostok." Japanese Consul

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno disclosed in a press briefing Tuesday that Tatsunori was no longer in detention and would be leaving Russia by Wednesday for his own safety.