Iran has freed a Japanese national held since January, Tokyo said Tuesday, with Kyodo News reporting however that the individual is not allowed to leave the Islamic republic. "The Japanese embassy in Iran has confirmed that a Japanese national who was detained by Iranian authorities on January 20 was released on April 6 local time," government spokesman Minoru Kihara said. "The ambassador in Iran directly met that person after release and confirmed they were in good health," Kihara told reporters. Another NHK staff member -- whose identity CPJ said it was withholding for safety reasons -- fled Iran in early February after being summoned several times, CPJ said. Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi late Monday Japanese time, Tokyo said.

Source: The Standard April 07, 2026 14:59 UTC