2 more Japanese held in China on spy allegations

TOKYO — Two more Japanese citizens are being held in China on suspicion of spying, bringing the total number of such cases to four, Japanese media reported.

Japan and China last month acknowledged that two Japanese had been arrested in May on suspected spying charges — one in Zhejiang province and the other near North Korean border in Liaoning.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry today (Oct 12) refused to confirm or deny the reports.

Two earlier cases were the only ones linked to spying allegations that the Japanese government was informed of, said Mr Kazunari Kotake, an official at the ministry’s department in charge of the safety of overseas Japanese.

The government has informed Japanese visitors in China to use extra caution, but said Japan was not taking any immediate further steps in response to the reports of the additional detentions.

Japan’s national broadcaster NHK said over the weekend that the cases involve a woman in her 50s, arrested in Shanghai, and a man in his 60s, arrested in Beijing, both in June.

In 2010, four employees of a Japanese construction company were accused of filming a Chinese military site in Hebei province but were released within weeks. AP