China court to issue verdict in case of Japan man accused of spying
The Japanese government has repeatedly called for the release of the Astellas employee in his 60s who was detained in March 2023, just before his scheduled return to Japan. The man was formally arrested in October that year and indicted in August 2024.
China has stepped up scrutiny of foreign organizations and individuals in the name of protecting national security, with a number of foreigners held since the introduction of a counterespionage law in 2014 and a national security law in 2015.
The man stood trial for the first time in November last year in a closed-door hearing at the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing. The specific details of how he violated the law in China remain unknown.
He had served as an executive at the pharmaceutical company's China unit and a senior official of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China.
In May this year, another Japanese man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for espionage by a Shanghai court.
Since Beijing's counterespionage law first came into force in 2014, 17 Japanese citizens have been detained for alleged spying. Five are still being held in China, according to the Japanese government.
China's revised counterespionage law took effect in 2023, broadening the scope of what constitutes spying activities to safeguard national security, with expatriates and foreign businesses worried about its arbitrary enforcement.
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