MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- The Japanese Embassy in Belarus said Tuesday it has confirmed that a Japanese national has been detained in the Eastern European country, following a report that a man from the Asian country was taken into custody earlier this month near the border with Ukraine.

The embassy, however, declined to disclose any personal information about the Japanese person or the allegations being looked into by Belarusian authorities.

According to the report by a Belarusian media outlet, a Japanese man was taken captive on Dec. 1 after he recorded video footage of an automobile viaduct in Gomel in the southeast.

The embassy said Belarus confirmed for it on Monday the detention of a Japanese national.

In Belarus, which maintains close ties with Russia, a Japanese teacher named Masatoshi Nakanishi has been held in Gomel since he was detained in July on spying allegations.