Japan Firms in China More Wary after Astellas Worker Spy Ruling

Jiji Press

13:31 JST, July 17, 2025

Beijing, July 16 (Jiji Press)—Concerns are growing among Japanese firms operating in China, after a Chinese court on Wednesday found an employee of major Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. guilty of spying.

The district court sentenced the male Japanese employee of Astellas to three years and six months in prison for espionage. Details have not been disclosed on what acts led to the guilty ruling.

“We don’t know what actions (by the Astellas employee) were considered a problem” by Chinese authorities, a senior official of a Japanese manufacturer stationed in Beijing said. “Unless we know what the acts were, we can’t operate our business in China with peace of mind.”

The Astellas worker was detained in the Chinese capital in 2023, just before he was set to return to Japan following the end of his assignment in China.. This triggered moves among Japanese companies to avoid sending their employees to the country.

After the incident, a midsize manufacturer started handing out smartphones containing minimal content to its employees making business trips to China. This practice is still in place, an official of the company said.

The number of corporate employees in Japan seeking posts in China has decreased.

“I’ve been unable to return home because no one wants to take my place,” an employee of a Japanese trading company in China said.

On Wednesday, the third China International Supply Chain Expo kicked off in Beijing, bringing together representatives from governments around the world and multinational firms. An official of a U.S. manufacturer said that the number of corporate employees asking for assignment in China is decreasing also in the United States.