Russia’s arrest of Japanese journalist: Why are tensions rising?

Russia has arrested a Japanese journalist from Sakhalin Island after accusing him of spying and gathering information on its defence capabilities.On Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported that the reporter, working for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was arrested by the Federal Security Service (FSB) as he was preparing to leave the next day.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘New tactic’: Russia expands deadly attacks on Ukraine’s transport systemlist 2 of 3Poland says two Turks arrested over Russia-linked Starlink station firelist 3 of 3Ukrainian ex-officer goes on trial in Germany over Nord Stream blastsend of listAccording to the TASS news agency, the FSB said the journalist, Imai Yuki, was arrested in the Sakhalin region and taken to Moscow after being accused in a “criminal case”.The arrest of the Japanese citizen comes amid deteriorating relations between the two countries as Tokyo joined Western sanctions against Moscow due to the invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s August visit to Iturup Island, which is part of the Kuril Islands archipelago, drew sharp reactions from Japan.The two countries have a longstanding territorial dispute over the K...