BEIJING – The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that an employee of Japanese firm Astellas Pharma had been detained on suspicion of espionage.

The relevant Chinese authorities earlier in March took compulsory criminal measures against a Japanese citizen in accordance with the law, spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing.

“This Japanese citizen is suspected of engaging in espionage activities, which violates criminal law and counter-espionage law,” Ms Mao said, adding that China had notified the Japanese Embassy in China.

Ms Mao said there were many similar cases in recent years, and that Japan should do more to educate its citizens.

The company did not identify the employee, and a spokesman said it was not clear why he had been detained. 

Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on Monday that the Chinese authorities had notified the Japanese Embassy in China in March that a Japanese male in his 50s was detained in Beijing for breaking Chinese domestic laws.

The Japanese government has been “strongly” demanding that China immediately release the Japanese national, the top government spokesman told reporters. 

“We have strongly requested consular visits and are providing as much support as possible,” said Mr Matsuno. 

According to Japanese media, the detained Japanese national has spent 20 years working in China and previously served as a senior official of the Japanese Chamber Commerce and Industry in China. 

“I want to stress that, no matter whether it’s a company or an individual, all must abide by laws and regulations. It’s like this in any country, and it is an international custom,” said Ms Mao. 

“I think the person involved should be clear what criminal activities he committed. I want to stress again that China is a country governed by law, we will handle all cases according to the law and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the person involved.” 

More than a dozen Japanese nationals have been detained in China since 2015, according to Kyodo News and other Japanese media outlets.

Eight people have returned to Japan. Seven are still in China facing trial or serving time, while one has died, Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reported in February.

Five of them have been found guilty by China of endangering national security, the paper said.

In 2020, a Japanese man was released from detention in China after completing a five-year prison sentence. The man moved to North Korea in the 1960s, later defected and returned to Japan, according to Kyodo News.

He was detained in 2015 close to the Chinese border with North Korea and sentenced to five years’ jail in 2018, it said.

In 2021, a male employee of trading house Itochu was released after serving three years’ jail in China, according to Japan’s Asahi newspaper. He was imprisoned for espionage in October 2019, it said. REUTERS