TOKYO: Iran has freed a Japanese national held since January, Tokyo said Tuesday (April 7), with Kyodo News reporting however that the individual is not allowed to leave the Islamic republic.
The Japanese news agency also reported, citing unnamed sources within the government in Tokyo, that the person is believed to be the Tehran bureau chief of broadcaster NHK.
"The Japanese embassy in Iran has confirmed that a Japanese national who was detained by Iranian authorities on January 20 was released on April 6 local time," government spokesman Minoru Kihara (pic) said.
"The ambassador in Iran directly met that person after release and confirmed they were in good health," Kihara told reporters.
Kyodo News reported that the person has been released only on bail and has been charged with security-related offences and is expected to stand trial.
Media reports had said in February that the NHK bureau chief was arrested on January 20 and was sent to a prison known for holding political detainees.
US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Radio Farda and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) both named the journalist as Shinnosuke Kawashima.
The detention followed major anti-government protests that peaked in early January and which were met by a violent government crackdown that rights groups said killed thousands of people.
This was before the United States and Israeli militaries began "Operation Epic Fury" on February 28 and killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The CPJ in February cited a source as saying that in addition, NHK's longtime videographer Mehdi Mohammedi's passport was confiscated along with his personal devices.
Another NHK staff member -- whose identity CPJ said it was withholding for safety reasons -- fled Iran in early February after being summoned several times, CPJ said.
Contacted by AFP, NHK said it was "not in a position to comment at this time".
"We will continue to make every possible effort to ensure the safety of our employees and staff, while fulfilling our journalistic mission of contributing to the realisation of peace," NHK said.
Iran last month released another Japanese citizen -- who was also not named -- who was being held, with Tokyo saying on March 22 that the person would return to Japan.
Japan and Iran have historically had relatively friendly relations.
Shinzo Abe, premier at the time, visited 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.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Tuesday that "arrangements" were being made for a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi late Monday Japanese time, Tokyo said.
Motegi called for "an early de-escalation" and "urged Iran to engage sincerely with the diplomatic efforts currently underway among the relevant countries". - AFP
