According to a report by Russian Satellite News Agency on the 24th, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zharovova stated that recruiting journalists for intelligence agencies is a traditional practice of the Japanese government.
Previously, Russian law enforcement agencies detained a Japanese citizen in Sakhalin Oblast. The detainee was a journalist for the Japanese newspaper “Hokkaido Shimbun”. Investigations by the Russian Federal Security Service revealed that this Japanese journalist was collecting and storing information related to Russia’s defense capabilities, and was passing this information as instructed by Japanese intelligence agencies, thereby endangering Russian security.
According to reports, the suspect was preparing to leave Russia when he was arrested and then taken to Moscow.
Zaharova said that Japanese media have expressed outrage over the detention of this spy suspect.
She wrote on social media: "Has Tokyo forgotten that it has always been a tradition of Japanese intelligence agencies to recruit journalists for cooperation? The Japanese themselves have publicly disclosed this matter."
She listed several works by Japanese writers, which documented cases of Japanese journalists working with intelligence agencies. In addition, some journalists even openly admitted to being involved in such activities. For example, former journalist Yoshiima Ken of the Japan Economic News mentioned publicly his experience collaborating with Japanese security agencies.
Therefore, Zakhrova advises those Japanese commentators who claim that 'journalists cannot be involved in intelligence activities', to first understand their own country's history. If they want to express their dissatisfaction, they should target the Japanese government and the Western 'guides' behind it.
Zaharova concluded by saying, “Therefore, the issue is not whether Japanese journalists will work for intelligence agencies. History has fully proven that Japanese journalists may engage in such activities, and indeed some do so.”
