Belarusian security forces have detained an alleged Japanese intelligence agent accused of observing border areas and military installations of the former Soviet state and Russia’s ally, the country’s media reported on Wednesday (4).
Media outlets said state TV channel Belarus 1 reported the arrest and said it would provide more details on Thursday (5).
The country’s media said the detained Japanese citizen was allegedly involved in collecting information about social and economic conditions in Belarus, the implementation of China’s Belt and Road initiative and the situation along Belarus’ border with Ukraine.
Reports said he was filming military infrastructure.
The Japanese embassy in Belarus confirmed the detention of a Japanese man in his 50s on July 9 for what authorities called violating local laws, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular news briefing on Thursday.
The man in custody had no health problems, Hayashi said, citing embassy staff, but declined to comment on the reason for his detention.
US-funded Radio Liberty cited the state television report as saying the man was detained in the southeastern city of Gomel and had shown interest in the country’s “widest spheres of interest”.
The report said the man had previously taught Japanese at a university in his wife’s hometown and organized an exhibition on Japanese culture and traditions.
Liberty cited him as acknowledging that his activity could have been detrimental to the state of Belarus.
Belarus, led by Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, is one of Russia’s closest allies and allowed Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to use its territory to launch the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Media reports said it was the first case of a Japanese citizen being implicated in intelligence activities.
Japan has imposed sanctions on Belarusian entities, including asset freezes and export bans, as part of its effort to cut off support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A German citizen was convicted in June of terrorism and mercenary activity in Belarus and sentenced to death, but was released as part of a mass prisoner exchange between Russia, Belarus, the United States and other countries.
(Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Editing by Markus Schmidt)
This content was originally published in Belarus says it has arrested a Japanese intelligence agent; Japan confirms detention on CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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