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China has indicted a Japanese national as a criminal suspect but refuses to even explain the specifics of the charges against him. Can such a nation be said to be ruled by law? The current situation, in which the Japanese national has been unreasonably detained, is absolutely unacceptable.
A Japanese man — an employee of Astellas Pharma Inc. who has been detained by Chinese authorities since March last year — has been indicted on suspicion of espionage. The move has sent great shock waves through the business community, as the man previously served as vice chair of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, which consists of Japanese companies that have made inroads into China.
Spokespersons for the Chinese Foreign Ministry have continued to refuse to explain the man’s detention. At a press conference following the indictment, a spokesperson did not reveal the details either, only stressing, “China is a country that upholds the rule of law.”
The Chinese judiciary has been criticized internationally for its secretive nature. China should specify what alleged action taken by the man constituted an act of spying. At the very least, the disclosure of the content of the indictment is fundamental for a nation governed by the rule of law, a key principle of which is open trials.
Since the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced an anti-espionage law in 2014 to make national security a top priority, a total of 17 Japanese nationals have been detained on suspicion of espionage and other charges. Five remain in custody.
During a Japan-China summit last November, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida directly pressed Xi for the early release of all the detained Japanese nationals.
The Japanese ambassador to China and his predecessor met separately with the Astellas employee. This is an unprecedented response by top embassy officials, indicating that Japan is taking the situation seriously.
Beijing has ignored Tokyo’s request to release the Japanese national soon. Now that the indictment has been filed, the man’s detention is expected to be unavoidably prolonged. The Japanese government should exhaust all efforts to realize his release.
In July, China also began implementing measures to strengthen the detection of spies, allowing authorities to check personal computers and mobile phones simply by showing their identification. Given this situation, entities cannot do business in China with peace of mind.
Direct investment in China by foreign companies dropped by more than 80% in 2023 from the previous year. The stagnation of the Chinese economy could be partly due to the Xi administration’s policy of placing excessive emphasis on national security.
Academic exchanges have also been stagnant as many Japanese researchers specializing in Chinese politics and military affairs have refrained from visiting China due to their fear of possible detention.
There have also been multiple cases in which Chinese scholars based in Japan have become unaccounted for when they temporarily returned to China. Beijing has not provided explanations on this matter either.
A spate of such incidents has hampered mutual understanding between Japan and China and increased their distrust of each other. It is hoped that Xi will be aware that China’s national interests will be undermined if this situation continues, and that he will change the current policy.
