Japan demands swift release of national detained in Iran

TOKYO – A Japanese national has been detained in Iran, the Japanese government said on Feb 25, while calling for his swift release.

Japanese government spokesman Masanao Ozaki told reporters that a Japanese citizen had been detained on Jan 20 but declined to give more details.

“The Japanese government has confirmed that one Japanese national was detained by the local authorities in Tehran, Iran, on Jan 20,” deputy chief cabinet secretary Ozaki said.

“Since this detention case came to light, the government has been strongly urging the Iranian side to secure the early release of the individual concerned.

“We are also in contact with the person and their family and other related parties, and are providing whatever assistance is necessary.”

US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda named the person as a journalist, Mr Shinnosuke Kawashima, the Tehran bureau chief of Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It reported on Feb 24 that he had been transferred to the Evin Prison a day earlier.

Mr Kawashima was being held in Ward 7 of the jail, where political prisoners are usually incarcerated, a source told the radio.

Iran International, a Persian-language TV channel based outside of Iran, did not name the journalist but also said that he was moved to Evin.

The exact date of the journalist’s arrest and the charges against him remain unclear, Iran International reported on its website.

NHK did not confirm the reports.

“We at NHK always act with the safety of our staff as our top priority. At this time, we are unable to comment further,” an NHK spokesman told AFP on Feb 25.

Japan and Iran have historically have had relatively friendly relations, with former premier Shinzo Abe visiting the Islamic republic in 2019. Then-president Hassan Rouhani made a return visit to Japan the same year.

But more recently, close US ally Japan has drastically reduced its once-substantial imports of Iranian oil as part of international pressure over Tehran’s nuclear activities.

A wave of protests in Iran began in December, sparked by economic woes in a country squeezed by sanctions over its nuclear programme.

This grew into nationwide demonstrations that peaked on Jan 8 and 9, posing one of the largest challenges to Iran’s leaders in years and which was met by a violent government crackdown.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has recorded more than 7,000 deaths, while warning the full toll is likely far higher.

Iranian officials acknowledge more than 3,000 deaths, but say the violence was caused by “terrorist acts” fuelled by the United States and Israel.

University students kicked off a new semester with gatherings over the weekend, during which they revived slogans from the nationwide protests.

On Feb 24, the fourth consecutive day of the campus protests, videos verified by AFP showed two groups facing off in a large hall at a Tehran university – one waving Iranian flags and the other chanting anti-government slogans – before scuffles broke out. AFP, REUTERS