Japan demands access to journalist detained in Russia as spy row persists

A senior Japanese official has visited Moscow, demanding consular access and calling for the immediate release of a Hokkaido Shimbun journalist detained on spying allegations, Tokyo said Wednesday. Kimitake Nakamura, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s European Affairs Bureau, met Tuesday with Lyudmila Georgievna Vorobyova, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Third Asian Department, which oversees Japan, to discuss both the detention and various recent issues in bilateral relations, Japan’s top government spokesman said Wednesday.