Update | China confirms arrest of two suspected Japanese spies – one caught near North Korean border
Foreign Ministry says on Wednesday that the separate detention of the two men in different places in May was 'in accordance with the law for engaging in espionage activities in China'
Two Japanese nationals have been arrested on suspicion of spying, the foreign ministry confirmed yesterday, following Japanese reports that Chinese authorities had been holding the pair since May, "making an excuse to link them to espionage".
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said "relevant authorities" arrested the two "in accordance with the law for engaging in espionage activities in China".
"China has already notified the Japanese side of the relevant situation," Hong added.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga also said yesterday that two Japanese men had been held in custody since May. "Diplomats are taking all appropriate steps and providing all possible assistance," he said.
Kyodo news agency reported that a senior Japanese government official told local reporters the Chinese authorities seemed to have been "making an excuse to link [the two] to suspected espionage".
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One was taken into custody in Liaoning province, near the border with North Korea, and the other was detained separately in Zhejiang province, near a military facility, Japan's newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported.
The paper said the two men were from the private sector, though China appeared to be looking into whether they were acting under the Japanese government's instructions.
Citing a source, Kyodo said the man detained in Zhejiang was not living in China but had been held after travelling there from Japan.
Asked if Japan was involved in any spying against China, Suga declined to comment on specific cases but said: "Our country is certainly not doing such things. I would like to say that this is the same [for] all countries."
Professor Victor Teo, from the University of Hong Kong's Department of Japanese Studies, said Beijing had been "wary of foreign countries acquiring intelligence on their capabilities on the east coast", "in particular areas where the Chinese military might be making preparations for a Taiwan contingency".
Teo said the detention near the North Korean border should be viewed in the context of Beijing's previous arrests of people involved in helping North Koreans flee abroad on espionage allegations in the same region.
The detentions were not likely to worsen the already frayed bilateral relations, which are "actually a lot more resilient than most people think", he said.
A new counter-espionage law more closely targeting foreign spies took effect in November.
Reuters, Kyodo
Additional reporting by Andrea Chen
