Latest news with #Japan-China
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Sentencing of Japan ‘Spy' Shows China's Line on National Security; Lack of Transparency May Set Back Japan-China Ties
A Chinese court's sentencing of a Japanese man to 3½ years in prison for allegedly engaging in espionage could deal a setback to the recently improving relationship between Japan and China. The man, an employee of drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc., had been detained by Chinese authorities since March 2023. Japan's government plans to once again press the Chinese side to quickly release Japanese nationals still being detained there. However, concerns over the lack of transparency from Chinese authorities in cases of law enforcement where 'national security' is used a pretext to detain people will continue to smolder. According to the Japanese Embassy in China, the man appeared to listen calmly to the Japanese interpretation of the ruling read out in Chinese by the presiding judge. Only embassy officials were in attendance at the proceedings; Japanese media outlets were unable to enter the courtroom. Men who appeared to be connected to the Chinese authorities stood around the courthouse and blocked attempts to report on the proceedings. The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping has fostered attempts to improve ties with Japan as Beijing's relations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump have grown increasingly adversarial. China has even recently taken steps to resolve issues that had plagued bilateral ties with Japan, such as accelerating procedures for resuming imports of Japanese marine products and beef. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had notified the Japanese side in advance that Wednesday's ruling 'would not be as harsh' as sentences handed down in previous cases, some of which had exceeded 10 years of imprisonment, according to sources familiar with Japan-China ties. Patriotism is expected to be on the rise in China as the nation nears a period that includes Aug. 15, which marks the anniversary of the end of **World War II**, and also Sept. 3, which China celebrates as the anniversary of its victory over Japan. The latest ruling was very likely timed to draw a line under a key contentious problem in Japan-China relations before this period. Amid all this, the Xi administration has continued to ramp up its hegemonistic behavior in the region, such as by having China Coast Guard vessels regularly intrude into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture and by dispatching two aircraft carriers to conduct exercises simultaneously in the Pacific Ocean. It is unlikely that Xi's administration will offer any concessions on issues that it considers to be non-negotiable, such as national security and the nation's territory. Calls for release unanswered The Japanese government has expressed serious concerns about China's detention of Japanese nationals. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya even described this issue as 'one of the biggest factors impeding people-to-people exchanges and the improvement of national sentiment' between Japan and China. The government has repeatedly pressed the Chinese side to quickly release Japanese nationals it has detained, but the day of the Astellas employee's sentencing arrived without any progress being made. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba touched on the ruling Wednesday. 'We must ensure the world is orderly,' Ishiba said during a speech in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. 'We want to create a more transparent, well-structured order.' That comment was apparently made with the lack of transparency in China's judicial process in mind. China is currently detaining five Japanese nationals, including the Astellas employee. They are being held in locations including Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province; Sanya, Hainan Province; and Changsha, Hunan Province. Chinese authorities have not revealed details about the reasons for and circumstances behind these detentions have not been disclosed. The Japanese government believes it is highly likely that the Chinese side will continue to crack down on what it considers to be 'espionage' activities and to strictly apply its anti-spying law. 'The only thing we can do is have the prime minister directly reach out to President Xi and lean on him to resolve the issue,' a government official told The Yomiuri Shimbun. The latest ruling will inevitably have an impact on economic and people-to-people exchanges between Tokyo and Beijing. The Japanese government is poised to bolster efforts to secure the release of Japanese detainees and strengthen messages urging travelers to China to exercise caution.
Asahi Shimbun
6 days ago
- Politics
- Asahi Shimbun
Anxiety spreads in Japan over ‘spying' prison sentence in China
China is cracking down on suspected spies in the name of 'national security.' (Asahi Shimbun file photo) Japanese nationals are increasingly fearful about working in China after a court in Beijing sentenced a Japanese employee to prison over unexplained espionage charges, industry sources say. The suspect, who works for Astellas Pharma Inc., was handed a prison term of three years and six months on July 16 by the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court. It was the latest incident of a Japanese national being sentenced to prison in China over spying allegations. Espionage-related charges fall under the category of 'national security,' which has been prioritized by the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Based on this category, trials of espionage suspects are not open to the public. Therefore, as the latest ruling shows, prison sentences can be issued without the public knowing what exactly the suspect is accused of doing. This uncertainty is the biggest reason that 'fewer Japanese people want to be posted to China,' said an expat of a Japanese company stationed in China. Scholars who specialize in Chinese politics or national security are also avoiding travel to China due to safety concerns. GREATER CAUTION URGED 'It is extremely regrettable that a guilty ruling has been issued,' said Kenji Kanasugi, Japan's ambassador to China, who attended the court session. He said the Astellas Pharma employee appeared calm in court. According to the Japanese Embassy, the man said he would 'consult with his lawyer' before deciding on whether to appeal the ruling. A different Japanese corporate employee said he was stationed in Beijing when the Astellas Pharma worker was taken into custody in March 2023, just before his planned return to Japan. 'The impact of the incident was huge,' he said. Ke Long, chief researcher at the policy research department of the Tokyo Foundation, said Japanese employees should be careful about their behavior in China. 'From the perspective of a businessperson, being sentenced to three and a half years without being shown any evidence is outrageous,' Ke said. 'The Chinese government's crackdown is intensifying, so Japanese nationals living in China must take this ruling seriously and exercise greater caution.' The statutory penalty under China's espionage law ranges from three years to life imprisonment. The three-and-a-half year sentence is considered 'relatively short compared with previous cases,' a senior official of Japan's Foreign Ministry said. Ke said the sentence indicates the Astellas Pharma employee did nothing serious enough to threaten China's national security. However, Ke also suggested that China may have imposed the near-minimum sentence to avoid worsening ties with Japan at a time when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government is struggling in the Upper House election campaign. Japan-China relations have recently shown signs of improvement, including China's resumption of Japanese seafood imports. The ruling may also have been timed to prevent anti-Japanese sentiment from rising in China with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II nearing. China might have deliberately avoided ruling on sensitive dates like July 7, when the Marco Polo bridge incident occurred in 1937, and Aug. 15, the day the war ended in 1945. COUNTERMEASURES PLANNED Japanese companies have scrambled to take measures to protect workers in China from arrest by Chinese authorities. They have held training sessions for their overseas employees and tightened information management, such as reducing cross-border transfers of sensitive data. Some companies have also instructed employees to avoid bringing into China their regularly used laptops or smartphones. But is this any way to operate? 'Japanese companies cannot do business in China without worrying about the current situation,' Ken Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said after the July 16 ruling. 'We hope Chinese authorities will enforce laws in a way that eliminates the anxieties of Japanese expatriates and their families.' Although Chinese authorities usually encourage citizens to report suspected spies, the July 16 ruling was not reported by Chinese media. At a regular news conference on July 16, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, said, 'As long as you act in accordance with the law, there's nothing to worry about.' (This article was written by Sotaro Hata, correspondent, and Masaki Hashida.)
Asahi Shimbun
16-07-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Astellas Pharma expat sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison
BEIJING—A Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma Inc. who has been detained here by Chinese authorities on suspicion of espionage was sentenced on July 16 to three years and six months in prison. Kenji Kanasugi, the Japanese ambassador to China who witnessed the verdict being handed down by the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court, equivalent to a district court, spoke to reporters afterward. According to Kanasugi, the court found that the man had engaged in espionage, but the ambassador did not disclose the content of the ruling, citing the man's wishes and other reasons. The man was detained in March 2023, shortly before he was about to return to Japan after completing his term of service in China. The man was placed under house arrest and interrogated in a facility designated by Chinese authorities. He was indicted in August 2024. To date, the specifics of the indictment have not been revealed. His first trial in November 2024 was not open to the public. He has not been allowed to discuss the details of the case in consular visits, which have been held once a month. Sources said the man had been stationed in China for a long time and was a well-known figure in the Japanese business community in Beijing. Seventeen Japanese have been detained on suspicion of espionage and other crimes since 2015, according to the Foreign Ministry. Five of them, including the Astellas employee, are still being held by the Chinese authorities. As for the other four, their prison sentences were finalized and they are currently serving 12 to 15 years. The lack of transparency surrounding the arrest on espionage and other charges has caused anxiety among expatriates of Japanese companies involved in business with China. The Japanese side had repeatedly called for the man's early release. This latest ruling could cast an even darker shadow over Japan-China ties. A spokesperson for Astellas said, 'We will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities and take appropriate measures.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Eyes Huge Market with China Set to Resume of Japanese Beef Imports; Japan Govt Hopes to Nearly Double Beef Exports by 2030
With China expected to resume importing Japanese beef, it is a huge step forward for the Japanese government, which aims to increase exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products. A Japan-China agreement on an animal health and quarantine took effect Friday, paving the way toward the resumption of Japanese beef exports to China. However, it is still uncertain when beef shipments to China will actually resume, as the two countries have to hold further discussions regarding product safety and quarantine procedures. China suspended imports of Japanese beef following an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in Japan in 2001. In November 2019, the two countries signed an agreement on cooperation in animal health and quarantine, a necessary step before exporting livestock products. However, China did not take further steps to resume imports, so the agreement was not able to take effect. Ahead of resuming exports, Japan's food safety procedures need to be evaluated by China. It will also be necessary to finalize specific conditions for export products, such as the meat processing method and hygiene control. 'The conditions necessary to resume exports will depend on what the Chinese side asks for,' said an agriculture ministry official. 'It's still uncertain when we will be able to resume exports.' Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products exceeded ¥1.5 trillion in 2024. The government set a goal to more than triple the figure to ¥5 trillion by 2030. While beef exports stood at ¥64.8 billion in 2024, the government hopes to almost double the figure to ¥113.2 billion by 2030. By country and region, the United States was the largest importer of Japanese beef at ¥13.4 billion in 2024, followed by Taiwan at ¥11.2 billion, Hong Kong at ¥8.4 billion and Cambodia at ¥6.7 billion. Exports of Japanese beef has nearly doubled compared to 2019 as a result of the surging global popularity of washoku Japanese cuisine. It has been pointed out that Japanese beef still reached China through Cambodia following China's suspension of its import. If China officially resumes importing Japanese beef, it will become possible for Japan to export the product directly to China, a massive market with a population of 1.4 billion. The resumption may drastically increase Japanese beef exports. 'As China has such a large population, there will be a high demand for Japanese beef,' said an official of the Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council.
Asahi Shimbun
12-07-2025
- Business
- Asahi Shimbun
Still no inkling on when beef exports to China will resume
Hiroshi Moriyama, center, the secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, greets Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Osaka on July 11. (Yoshinori Mizuno) Although Japan and China have cleared hurdles for a resumption of Japanese beef exports after a 24-year hiatus, it remains unclear when shipments will start. The two countries finally activated a key animal health and quarantine agreement on July 11. They ratified the accord in 2019. Officials in Tokyo noted that Beijing could yet again delay negotiations for political reasons. Thus, the latest development will only remove one major hurdle to the resumption of exports that have been stopped since 2001 following an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as mad cow disease. Hiroshi Moriyama, the secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, met on July 11 in Osaka with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, who said the animal quarantine agreement would go into effect that day. Moriyama also heads a multi-partisan group of lawmakers focused on Japan-China relations and after his meeting with He played up the agreement in a speech for an LDP candidate running in the July 20 Upper House election. '(The quarantine agreement) will lead to the resumption of exports to China for the first time in 24 years,' Moriyama said. Government sources said the LDP and prime minister's office had been pushing for diplomatic results that could help the party in the Upper House election campaign. China in late June agreed to resume seafood imports from Japan, except for 10 prefectures including Fukushima. It slapped a ban on imports in August 2023 after Japan began releasing tons of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean. On July 11, Beijing approved the registration of three Japanese companies for exporting seafood to China. Government sources also said He provided an optimistic appraisal to Moriyama about future loans of giant pandas to Japan. China's push to improve ties with Japan is clearly linked with the increasing confrontation orchestrated by U.S. President Donald Trump with his tariff trade wars. A former ambassador to China speculated that Beijing was attempting to pull Japan away from the U.S. orbit because of uncertainties surrounding the direction of U.S. policy toward China. But with surveys showing the LDP facing a drubbing in the Upper House election, China might have to recalibrate its policy toward Japan if the ruling coalition loses its majority in the Upper House and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is forced to resign. And with this year marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, China is planning to hold a range of events to mark its victory over Japan, which inevitably will be used for propaganda purposes. That could unleash another round of anti-Japan sentiment lingering from the country's military aggression in China in the years leading up to and during the war. (This article was written by Nen Satomi and Haruka Suzuki in Tokyo and Ryo Inoue in Beijing.)
