Nakanishi Masatoshi is a Japanese citizen. On September 4, 2024, it was reported that hehad been detained in Belarus. He was detained back in July 2024, but the details of his persecution were only revealed now in a BT report. Nakanishi is being held in a KGB pretrial detention facility on charges of "intelligence activity" (Article 358-1 of the Criminal Code). The Japanese citizen faces up to seven years in prison in Belarus.
Immediately after the broadcast of the BT program, Tokyo lodged a protest with the Belarusian Foreign Ministry. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stated that the program's content violated human rights.
On December 13, 2025, he was released after another visit to Minsk by US President Donald Trump's special representative, John Cole, and taken to Lithuania.
