Japanese consul detained in Vladivostok while “obtaining classified information”

The FSB reported the detention of the consul of the General Consulate of Japan in Vladivostok, RIA Novosti reports.

According to the report, the consul was detained “while receiving classified information for money about significant aspects of Russia's cooperation with one of the Asia-Pacific countries and the impact of Western sanctions policy on the economic situation in the Primorsky Krai.”

Russia made a protest to the Japanese side via diplomatic channels and the consul was declared persona non grata.

The FSB claims the diplomat has pleaded guilty and publishes a video, presumably of the meeting in which he was detained. In the video, a man (apparently, the consul) and a woman are having dinner in a restaurant; the man sits with his back to the camera and the woman's face is blurred. The video is not accompanied by sound or any commentary whatsoever. In the second part of the video, the consul sits at a table, apparently in the investigator's office, and answers an interpreter's questions in Japanese. The video has a subtitle translation according to which he is admitting his guilt.

Japanese consul detained in Vladivostok while “obtaining classified information”. FSB video shows him having dinner with a woman in a restaurant.

Japanese consul detained in Vladivostok while “obtaining restricted information”. FSB video shows him having dinner with a woman in a restaurant.