Russia detains Japanese journalist on suspicion of espionage
London, October 14, 2026—Russia must immediately release a Japanese journalist detained on Tuesday in the far-eastern island of Sakhalin on suspicion of espionage, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. The journalist, identified by media as Yuki Imai, is believed to be a correspondent for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, a regional outlet for Japan’s northern…
Abe administration throttles media independence, journalists and UN say
Late in 2015, the Japanese government asked David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, to reschedule a visit planned for December. At the time, some news outlets speculated that the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, under criticism for rising threats to free expression, was trying to…