The official Korean Central News Agency said Japanese national Tomoyuki Sugimoto was released on humanitarian grounds after he was detained for breaking an unspecified law while visiting North Korea. It did not provide details of the alleged crime. The Japanese government has been collecting information related to the issue.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper said the man is a 39-year-old self-described “video creator” who was on a group tour and was supposed to return to Japan on Aug. 13, but lost contact. The man might have faced a charge espionage and may have been arrested while trying to film a military facility in North Korea's northwestern region.