In a tit-for-tat move, Japan discards a Russian diplomat

• Tokyo has told a senior Russian official stationed in the country to leave.
• This is in response to Russia’s decision to kick out a Japanese diplomat who was accused of spying.
• A Russian consul in the city of Sapporo in the north will be kicked out “as a response.”

In a tit-for-tat move,” Tokyo has told a senior Russian official stationed in the country to leave. This is in response to Russia’s decision last week to kick out a Japanese diplomat who was accused of spying.

On October 4, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that a Russian consul in the city of Sapporo in the north will be kicked out “as a response to what Russia has done.”

Russia said on September 26 that a Japanese diplomat in the eastern city of Vladivostok had been detained and told to leave the country on suspicion of espionage. Russia said that the consul was suspected of trying to get “restricted” information.

It said that the diplomat, whose name was given as Motoki Tatsunori, was caught getting information about how Western sanctions affected Russia’s economy in exchange for “money.”

Tatsunori was told by the Russian Foreign Ministry that he was no longer welcome in Russia and had 48 hours to leave.

Also Read

Japanese PM’s “new capitalism” is met with long-standing criticism

The current prime minister of Japan promised to promote a new type...