Russia crossed a modern red line in March 2023 when it arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on phony charges of espionage. Our man was released after 16 months in a trade for Germany's release of a convicted Russian assassin. But now Vladimir Putin is doing it again, and this time the target is Japan.
Russia's security services last week arrested Yuki Imai, of the Hokkaido Shimbun, on Sakhalin Island, reportedly as he was preparing to leave the country. The island is off Russia's coast north of Japan, and Hokkaido is Japan's largest northern island.
Russian security police accused Mr. Imai of reporting on Russian soldiers taking part in live-fire bombing exercises over the Kuril Islands. They say he was working for Japan's national intelligence service, which the newspaper and the Tokyo government deny.
In August Mr. Putin visited the islands, which Russia captured in 1945 and whose legitimate control is disputed by Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi criticized Mr. Putin's visit -- his first to the islands.
Like Mr. Gershkovich, Mr. Imai held a valid credential to report in Russia, according to the International Federation of Journalists. Mr. Imai was flown to Moscow, and a court ordered that he be placed in pre-trial detention, which in Russia can last for years. A Japanese government spokesman said it hadn't been able to contact Mr. Imai.
The reporter is probably another pawn in Mr. Putin's game of intimidation and hostage-taking. The Kremlin wants Japan to extradite Tomoko Akane, the Japanese president of the International Criminal Court that has issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Putin. Japan has refused.
With President Trump now seeking to become Mr. Putin's best friend, the Russian may also think it's a ripe moment to pressure Japan for this human trade, or perhaps to ease the sanctions on Russia that Tokyo imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. Whatever his motive, this is another example of the way Mr. Putin seeks to harass friends of the U.S. and sow division in the West's alliances.
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