Russia expels Japanese diplomat ‘detained red-handed’ for alleged spying

Russia’s security service said the official paid for classified information and was also seeking to learn about the impact of Western sanctions
The diplomat was identified as Motoki Tatsunori, of the consulate general in Vladivostok. Russia currently designates Japan as a ‘hostile’ country

Japan

Agence France-Pressein Moscow

Published: 5:30am, 27 Sep 2022

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Russia said on Monday it had detained a Japanese diplomat based in the eastern city of Vladivostok for carrying out espionage-related work and declared the official person non grata, news agencies reported.

“A Japanese diplomat was detained red-handed while receiving classified information, in exchange for money, about Russia’s cooperation with another country in the Asia-Pacific region,” the FSB security service said in a statement, carried by Russian news agencies.

The diplomat had also been soliciting information about “the impact of Western sanctions” on the eastern Primorsky region, the FSB said, according to news agencies.

Motoki Tatsunori, formerly of the Japanese consulate general in Vladivostok, seen in Russian detention. Photo: YouTube

Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement the diplomat was ordered to leave the country within 48 hours. Meanwhile, the Japanese embassy in Moscow called Russia’s detention of a consul for interrogation “unacceptable” and said the move was in clear violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The FSB said it had lodged a protest with Tokyo through diplomatic channels and declared the diplomat – identified as Motoki Tatsunori of the consulate general in Vladivostok – persona non grata, the news agencies reported.

The FSB distributed a short video it said showed the diplomat acknowledging that he had violated Russian laws.

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“The alleged illegal activity insisted by the Russian side is completely groundless,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Tuesday.

Matsuno said Japan’s foreign vice-minister Takeo Mori summoned Russia’s ambassador and strongly protested, demanding a formal apology from the Russian government and measures to prevent a recurrence.

The Russian authorities’ treatment of the consulate official was “intimidating” during the interrogation, adding that such handling of consular officials violates the Vienna convention and a Japan-Russo treaty over consular affairs, Matsuno said. “It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable,” Matsuno said.

It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable

Takeo Mori, Japanese foreign vice-minister, on the envoy’s expulsion

The consular official has since been released with no health problems and is set to return to Japan on Wednesday.

Russia considers Japan to be a “hostile” country, a designation it shares with all EU countries, the United States and allies including Britain and Australia.

Moscow and Tokyo have traded tit-for-tat sanctions and expulsions of diplomats since February 24 when Vladimir Putin launched what the Kremlin calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Tokyo had complex relations with Moscow before the Ukrainian invasion and the two sides have yet to sign a post-World War II peace treaty.

Attempts to do so have been hampered by a long-running dispute over islands controlled by Russia, which calls them the Kurils.

Additional reporting by Kyodo, Associated Press