A court in China yesterday sentenced a Japanese businessman to three-and-a-half years in prison for spying, Tokyo’s ambassador in Beijing said.
The man — described by Japan’s Kyodo news agency as being in his 60s and an employee of Astellas Pharma Inc, a major Japanese pharmaceutical company — was detained in March 2023.
He was charged with espionage in August last year, placed under formal arrest in October and his first hearing was held in November, but no details were released.
Photo: Kyodo News via AP
He was “sentenced to three years and six months in prison for espionage activities,” Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi told Japanese media after the trial in Beijing.
“It is extremely regrettable that such a guilty verdict was issued,” he said.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) said China’s judicial organs “handle cases in strict accordance with the law.”
“As long as foreign personnel in China and coming to China abide by the law ... there is nothing to be worried or anxious about,” he told a regular news conference.
A total of 17 Japanese citizens with business or other connections to China have been detained since 2014, when Beijing enacted the Counter-Espionage Law of the People’s Republic of China. Five are in custody or serving prison terms in China, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said.
A Japanese diplomat was detained for questioning in 2022 and released hours later, prompting strong protests from Japan.
Kanasugi was present at yesterday’s ruling, but Japanese reporters were not allowed inside the courtroom.
He told reporters that Japan would continue to demand the early release of Japanese nationals in detention, adding that such detentions are “one of the biggest obstacles to improving people-to-people exchanges and public sentiment between Japan and China.”
Tokyo’s embassy in a statement urged China “to ensure their legitimate rights and humane treatment during detention, and to improve the transparency of the judicial process.”
The detained man reportedly worked in China for two decades and was previously a senior executive at a major Japanese business lobby in the country.
He was planning to return home before his sudden detention, Kyodo news agency reported.
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