Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi summoned the Russian ambassador to Japan, Mikhail Galuzin, to express a “strong protest” over the arrest, this Monday, in Vladivostok, of the Japanese consul general, Motoki Tatsunori.
The ruler also demanded a formal apology from the Russian side.
“I strongly urge the Russian side to take this request seriously,” Hayashi said, urging to avoid a repeat of the incident in the future.
“There is absolutely no evidence that (…) he was involved in illegal activities as the Russian side claims,” the diplomat told Ameba News television channel.
Hayashi also denounced the treatment of the consul general: “They blindfolded him from start to finish and kept his hands and head down.. (…) It is extremely regrettable that the actions of the Russian side have been a clear and serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Japan-Soviet Consular Convention”.
“The Russian Federal Security Service in the Primorsky Territory foiled an espionage action by Japanese Consul General Motoki Tatsunori,” Russian authorities said in a statement on Monday.
According to the same note, the Japanese diplomat was caught red-handed when he received “limited circulation” information about Russia’s cooperation with one of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region and about the influence of Western sanctions policy on the economic situation in the Primorye Territory.
“A protest was lodged with Japan and Motoki Tatsunori was declared ‘persona non grata”” added the statement, which also mentioned that the diplomat had admitted his guilt.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Tatsunori has 48 hours to leave Russiaafter this incident.
Source: Observadora
