A U.S. State Department spokesperson defended Japan’s denial of espionage allegations after Russia detained a Hokkaido Shimbun reporter and expressed support for freedom of expression.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson reportedly expressed support for Japan’s denial of espionage allegations concerning the detention of a Hokkaido Shimbun reporter by Russian authorities on the 19th.
Kyodo News reported the U.S. side’s remarks with its reporter present. The U.S. side said it considers freedom of expression a fundamental right.
The reporter was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on the 13th for allegedly collecting, at the direction of a Japanese intelligence agency, information on soldiers mobilized from the Northern Territories and the Kuril Islands in connection with the special military operation in Ukraine.
The U.S. side asserted that societies are strengthened by the free expression of opinions and that government censorship is unacceptable in a free society.