AJ
Iran has arrested the Tehran bureau chief of Japanese broadcaster NHK, sending him to a prison known for holding political inmates, according to media reports.
US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Radio Farda named the journalist as Shinnosuke Kawashina, reporting on Tuesday that he was transferred to Evin Prison a day earlier.
Kawashima was being held in Ward 7 of the prison, where political prisoners are usually incarcerated, a source told the radio.
According to Iran International, a Persian-language TV channel based outside of Iran, a journalist was moved to Evin, but they did not name Kawashina in the information release.
NHK hasn’t confirmed the reports, saying: “We at NHK act with the safety of our staff as top priority – at this time we are unable to comment further,” an NHK spokesman told AFT on Wednesday, and the exact date of Kawashina’s arrest is currently unknown, while the charges against him are unclear, reported Iran International.
According to Japanese government spokesman Masanao Ozaki, a Japanese citizen had been detained on January 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 January 20,” deputy chief cabinet secretary Ozaki said.
“Since this detention came to light, the government has been strongly urging the Iranian side to secure the early release of the individual concerned,” Ozaki told reporters, adding: “We are also in contact with the person and their family and other related parties, and are providing whatever assistance is necessary.”
Japan and Iran have historically had relative friendly relations, with former Premier Shinzo Abe visiting the Islamic Republic in 2019, as well as then-President Hassan Rouhani making a return visit to Japan that same year.
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.
