Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Sadaaki Numata on Monday asked Afghanistan's Taliban authorities to secure the safety of a Japanese national detained in Jalalabad and asked for his swift release, the Foreign Ministry said.
Numata met with Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef in Islamabad on Monday after Zaeef returned from a trip to Afghanistan, ministry officials said in Tokyo.
Taliban authorities had identified the detained Japanese as Daigen Yanagida, who is believed to be a freelance journalist from Mitaka, western Tokyo. But the Japanese Embassy in Pakistan has not officially confirmed his identity.
Zaeef told Numata that Taliban authorities in Jalalabad had arrested a Japanese national named "Daigen" for illegal entry and would decide whether he should face trial after the investigation. Zaeef said he was still trying to confirm the man's full name, the ministry said.
Last week, media reports out of Pakistan said that the Taliban had released the passport number of the detained Japanese, which Foreign Ministry officials said matched that issued to Daigen Yanagida, a freelance journalist from Mitaka.
The detained Japanese is in good health, Zaeef said.