Tokyo confirms Japanese national held by Iran freedA taxi stands next to a banner depicting Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, along a street in Tehran. (Photo: AFP)TOKYO - Iran freed a Japanese national held since January, Tokyo said on Tuesday, with Kyodo News reporting that the person was believed to be the Tehran bureau chief of broadcaster NHK. It was the second release after the Japanese government announced last month that another Japanese national was freed by Iran. "The Japanese embassy in Iran has confirmed that a Japanese national who was detained by Iranian authorities on Jan 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.

Source: Bangkok Post April 07, 2026 08:05 UTC