Japanese nationals are increasingly fearful about working in China after a court in Beijing sentenced a Japanese employee to prison over unexplained espionage charges, industry sources say.

The suspect, who works for Astellas Pharma Inc., was handed a prison term of three years and six months on July 16 by the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court.

It was the latest incident of a Japanese national being sentenced to prison in China over spying allegations.

Espionage-related charges fall under the category of “national security,” which has been prioritized by the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Based on this category, trials of espionage suspects are not open to the public.

Therefore, as the latest ruling shows, prison sentences can be issued without the public knowing what exactly the suspect is accused of doing.

This uncertainty is the biggest reason that “fewer Japanese people want to be posted to China,” said an expat of a Japanese company stationed in China.

Scholars who specialize in Chinese politics or national security are also avoiding travel to China due to safety concerns.

GREATER CAUTION URGED

“It is extremely regrettable that a guilty ruling has been issued,” said Kenji Kanasugi, Japan’s ambassador to China, who attended the court session.

He said the Astellas Pharma employee appeared calm in court.

According to the Japanese Embassy, the man said he would “consult with his lawyer” before deciding on whether to appeal the ruling.

A different Japanese corporate employee said he was stationed in Beijing when the Astellas Pharma worker was taken into custody in March 2023, just before his planned return to Japan.

“The impact of the incident was huge,” he said.

Ke Long, chief researcher at the policy research department of the Tokyo Foundation, said Japanese employees should be careful about their behavior in China.

“From the perspective of a businessperson, being sentenced to three and a half years without being shown any evidence is outrageous,” Ke said. “The Chinese government’s crackdown is intensifying, so Japanese nationals living in China must take this ruling seriously and exercise greater caution.”

The statutory penalty under China’s espionage law ranges from three years to life imprisonment.

The three-and-a-half year sentence is considered “relatively short compared with previous cases,” a senior official of Japan’s Foreign Ministry said.

Ke said the sentence indicates the Astellas Pharma employee did nothing serious enough to threaten China’s national security.

However, Ke also suggested that China may have imposed the near-minimum sentence to avoid worsening ties with Japan at a time when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government is struggling in the Upper House election campaign.

Japan-China relations have recently shown signs of improvement, including China’s resumption of Japanese seafood imports.

The ruling may also have been timed to prevent anti-Japanese sentiment from rising in China with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II nearing.

China might have deliberately avoided ruling on sensitive dates like July 7, when the Marco Polo bridge incident occurred in 1937, and Aug. 15, the day the war ended in 1945.

COUNTERMEASURES PLANNED

Japanese companies have scrambled to take measures to protect workers in China from arrest by Chinese authorities.

They have held training sessions for their overseas employees and tightened information management, such as reducing cross-border transfers of sensitive data.

Some companies have also instructed employees to avoid bringing into China their regularly used laptops or smartphones.

But is this any way to operate?

“Japanese companies cannot do business in China without worrying about the current situation,” Ken Kobayashi, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said after the July 16 ruling. “We hope Chinese authorities will enforce laws in a way that eliminates the anxieties of Japanese expatriates and their families.”

Although Chinese authorities usually encourage citizens to report suspected spies, the July 16 ruling was not reported by Chinese media.

At a regular news conference on July 16, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said, “As long as you act in accordance with the law, there’s nothing to worry about.”

(This article was written by Sotaro Hata, correspondent, and Masaki Hashida.)