Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi demanded on Friday the immediate release of a Japanese national detained in Sakhalin Oblast, according to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a meeting of about 30 minutes with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, which began at 1:35 p.m. local time.

According to Reuters, in a text republished by the WQXC website, Russia said this month it had detained a Japanese journalist in its far eastern Sakhalin region on suspicion of espionage.