Number of Suspected Japanese Spies Detained in China Grows to 4

A Japanese woman was detained in China in June on suspicion of spying, the fourth Japanese citizen to be held by Chinese authorities for the same reason, according to Japanese media on Sunday.

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.

Chinese authorities confirmed on September 30 that two Japanese on suspicion of acting as spies were arrested in China.

Quoting sources, the Japan Times said the Public Security Intelligence Agency had allegedly asked the Sapporo resident, who is said to have connections with Communist Party executives in China, to gauge the political climate there.

The woman is reportedly an employee of a Japanese language school in Tokyo.

Kyodo reported earlier that the two Japanese civilians may have been collecting information about Chinese military activities and North Korea for Japan’s national intelligence agency.

The Chinese government is increasingly cracking down on spying activities based on its counterespionage law launched in November 2014.

Tokyo has denied it sent spies to China. In China, the maximum sentence for espionage is the death penalty.

Sino-Japanese relations are already strained by revived war memories and tensions over the South China Sea.