MOSCOW, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolai Nozdrev rejected Tokyo's protest over the detention of a Japanese correspondent, during a meeting at Japan's foreign ministry, the Russian embassy said on Thursday.
"The head of the diplomatic mission pointed out ... the unacceptability of the situation in which Japanese special services recruit private individuals -- including Japanese journalists accredited in Russia -- for 'cooperation' to collect classified information with the aim of undermining the security and defense capability of our country. He emphasized that Russian competent authorities have repeatedly foiled such attempts in the past," the embassy said in an official statement.
On Tuesday, a Japanese correspondent was detained by Russia's Federal Security Service on suspicion of espionage and later admitted to having contact with Japanese intelligence, according to Russian authorities. ■