Japanese Businessman Faces 3.5-Year Espionage Sentence in China

Beijing, Jul 16 (AP) - A Japanese businessman received a prison sentence of three and a half years on espionage charges in China, as reported by the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Wednesday.

The embassy has not disclosed the identity of the man, who has been in detention since March 2023.

According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, he is in his 60s and an employee of Astellas Pharma Inc, a prominent Japanese pharmaceutical company.

The individual faced espionage charges in August, with his initial hearing occurring in November, although specific details were not released.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court provided no immediate announcement following the sentencing.

Kenji Kanasugi, the Japanese ambassador to China, attended the ruling; however, Japanese media were barred from entering the courtroom, Kyodo noted.

The Japanese government has lodged protests against various detentions of its citizens within China.

An embassy statement labeled the sentencing as “regrettable” and highlighted these detentions as “one of the biggest obstacles to improving people-to-people exchanges and public sentiment between Japan and China.”

Since 2014, when China introduced its anti-spying law, 17 Japanese nationals, including the current defendant, have been detained, with five still remaining in China, according to Kyodo.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)