A Japanese diplomat in Shanghai decided to kill himself rather than allow Chinese intelligence agents to blackmail him into betraying his country, Tokyo confirmed after the news was leaked to the media.
"I cannot sell my own country," the unnamed diplomat wrote in a note made out to his family before his death on May 6 last year, according to the Japanese-language daily Yomiuri Shimbun.
Japan's No. 2 politician confirmed that a diplomat at the Japanese consulate in Shanghai committed suicide after being pressured by Chinese intelligence agents to disclose confidential information.
"It's true that he died," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told a press conference on Tuesday, in response to a story published in the Japanese-language magazine Shukan Bunshun. "But I would like to decline making detailed comments on the matter, including the cause of his death" because of a request from the diplomat's family.
Blackmail confirmed
However, Abe appeared to confirm the reports that the man had committed suicide because he was being blackmailed into spying for China.
"Generally speaking, the host country is expected to treat a consul with due respect and take every measure to prevent any breach of the consul's physical freedom and dignity. There should be no menace or exertion of illegal pressure against a consul," Kyodo news agency reported Abe as saying.
According to the Shukan Bunshun, the diplomat was approached by Chinese intelligence after he had an affair with a karaoke hostess. They threatened to "make trouble" for the diplomat and reveal his affair if he did not cooperate.
Flight numbers
The Chinese agents wanted the diplomat, said to be in his 40s, to identify consulate officials and to disclose the flight numbers of airlines that would be carrying secret documents between China and Japan. The agents also wanted information on Japanese encryption systems.
The diplomat was in charge of encryption and communications for the consulate, the Yomiuri reported. The paper cited sources as saying they did not believe he had disclosed any confidential information to the Chinese.
Meanwhile, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had protested to Beijing multiple times over the incident.
Tokyo has yet to receive a response from the Chinese government, ministry spokesman Yoshinori Katori said yesterday.
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