Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had a brief conversation with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshitsu while attending the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta on the 30th. He discussed bilateral relations and emphasized that stopping Japan's unfriendly practices towards Russia is a necessary condition for resuming comprehensive dialogue between Russia and Japan. The last formal meeting between Russia and Japan was in September 2021. The Russian Federal Security Service reported on the 13th that a local reporter from Japan's “Hokkaido News” was arrested in Sakhalin Oblast on suspicion of collecting, storing, and transmitting information related to Russia's defense capabilities in accordance with the instructions of Japanese intelligence agencies; Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador to Japan on the 14th. Russia responded that Japanese intelligence services were soliciting people, including Japanese journalists legally registered in Russia, to gather confidential information, which is unacceptable. The case will be investigated according to Russian law.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had a brief conversation with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshitsu while attending the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Atlanta on the 30th. He discussed bilateral relations and emphasized that stopping Japan's unfriendly practices towards Russia is a necessary condition for resuming comprehensive dialogue between Russia and Japan. The last formal meeting between Russia and Japan was in September 2021. The Russian Federal Security Service reported on the 13th that a local reporter from Japan's “Hokkaido News” was arrested in Sakhalin Oblast on suspicion of collecting, storing, and transmitting information related to Russia's defense capabilities in accordance with the instructions of Japanese intelligence agencies; Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador to Japan on the 14th. Russia responded that Japanese intelligence services were soliciting people, including Japanese journalists legally registered in Russia, to gather confidential information, which is unacceptable. The case will be investigated according to Russian law.