Another Japanese national has been detained in Belarus, officials at the Japanese Embassy in Belarus said Tuesday.
A Belarusian news outlet reported on Dec. 3 that a Japanese man was detained in the Gomel region, which neighbors Ukraine, on Dec. 1 while he was filming a highway viaduct and was then handed over to Belarusian intelligence authorities.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry informed the embassy of the detainment on Monday, the officials said.
The officials have not disclosed details of the detainment, including the name of the Japanese national.
"We'll continue to respond appropriately from the perspective of protecting Japanese nationals," an embassy official said.
In July, Masatoshi Nakanishi, a Japanese language teacher living in Gomel, was detained for alleged spying. In September, a Belarusian television aired a program claiming that he was a Japanese intelligence agent.
Belarus is an ally of Russia. Russian troops invaded Ukraine via Gomel in 2022.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.