Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi called on Russia to release a detained Japanese journalist during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the United States. This marked their first formal face-to-face encounter in five years, underscoring the ongoing tensions between the two countries.

The detained journalist, Yuki Imai, was arrested earlier this month by Russian authorities in Sakhalin Oblast, located in Russia’s Far East, on allegations of espionage. Imai is currently being held in Moscow. The Japanese government has strongly protested the arrest and has demanded his immediate release. Japanese officials met with Imai recently—the first meeting since his detention.

The meeting between Motegi and Lavrov took place amid broader strained relations between Japan and Russia, which have been exacerbated by Japan’s support for global sanctions against Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition to the geopolitical fallout from the Ukraine conflict, the two countries are embroiled in a longstanding territorial dispute over a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. These islands, known in Russia as the Kuril Islands and in Japan as the Northern Territories, were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in 1945.

In August, Japan formally protested Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Kuril Islands—the first by a Russian president since Dmitry Medvedev’s trip in 2010. Japan also condemned Russia’s announcement of planned missile tests near the islands. These events have further strained relations between Tokyo and Moscow.

According to the Japanese foreign ministry, Motegi conveyed multiple concerns during the discussion with Lavrov and emphasized the importance of maintaining diplomatic communication despite the difficulties in bilateral relations. The last official foreign minister-level talks between the two countries took place in September 2021 in New York.

Both Japan and Russia face ongoing challenges in resolving their territorial dispute and rebuilding trust, made more complex by geopolitical tensions and recent developments such as the detention of the Japanese journalist. The outcome of Motegi’s demarche at the G20 summit remains pending as diplomatic channels continue to engage on these issues.