Iran releases on bail Japan national jailed amid antigovernment protests

The person released is believed to be Japanese broadcaster NHK’s Tehran bureau chief, Shinnosuke Kawashima.A Japanese citizen has been released on bail in Iran, according to Japan’s top government spokesperson, months after their detention amid the country’s antigovernment protests.The Japan-in-Iran" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="101147" data-entity-type="organization">Embassy of Japan in Iran confirmed on Tuesday that “a Japanese national who was detained by Iranian authorities on January 20 was released on April 6 local time,” said government spokesman Minoru Kihara.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran executes two convicted members of banned opposition grouplist 2 of 4Frustration grows as Iran’s wartime internet shutdown breaks grim recordlist 3 of 4Trump says US armed Iranian dissidents via Kurds weeks before launching warlist 4 of 4Has Trump confirmed Iran’s claim that protesters were US-armed?end of listIn February, United States-funded Radio Free Europe reported that public broadcaster NHK’s Tehran bureau chief, Shinnosuke Kawashima, had been arrested in Iran and transferred to a local prison. The person released on Tuesday is believed to be Shinnosuke.The individual appeared to have no health issues, Kihara told a press briefing, without providing further details or revealing their identity or what charges they faced.Japan’s Kyodo News reported that the individual is not allowed to leave Iran. The wire also reported that the person has been charged with security-related offences and is expected to stand trial.At the time of the Japanese national’s arrest, NHK said “there is nothing we can answer at this stage” and that staff safety was a top priority.The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in February quoted a source as saying that another NHK journalist had dealt with Iranian authorities. The broadcaster’s longtime videographer, Mehdi Mohammedi, had his passport confiscated along with his personal devices.Another NHK staff member – whose identity CPJ said it was withholding for safety reasons – fled Iran in early February after being summoned several times, the journalist rights organisation said.Last month, Iran released another Japanese citizen who was being held, and who also was not named, with Tokyo saying on March 22 that the person would return to Japan.