Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, during a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, urged Moscow to immediately release a detained Japanese journalist and to take steps towards achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.
The meeting took place on Friday, 30 October, on the sidelines of talks between G20 foreign ministers in the US state of Georgia.
Motegi raised the issue of the detention of a Japanese journalist who was detained on Sakhalin in early October on suspicion of espionage. He also called on Russia to help establish a just and lasting peace in Ukraine in connection with Russia’s full-scale invasion.
In addition, the Japanese minister set out Tokyo’s position on unresolved bilateral issues, including the islands off the coast of Hokkaido that are under Russian control.
Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the sides agreed to continue engagement despite strained relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Lavrov stressed that Japan must abandon its “unfriendly policy” towards Russia as a condition for restoring full-fledged dialogue. It also said the meeting took place at the request of the Japanese side.
- This was the first official meeting between the foreign ministers of Japan and Russia in about five years. The ministers last held talks in September 2021. Relations between the two countries deteriorated after Japan and other G7 states imposed sanctions on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.