"Excuse Me, Can I Ask for Directions?"... Japanese Police Book Former Russian Trade Representative for Leaking Trade Secrets

Tokyo Metropolitan Police: "A Typical Act of Espionage"

The Japanese police have booked a Russian national, who was working at the Russian Trade Representative Office in Japan, and an employee of a machine tool manufacturing company without detention on suspicion of leaking trade secrets.

According to NHK and Kyodo News on January 20, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department booked two suspects that day: a Russian man, a former employee of the Russian Trade Representative Office in Japan, and a Japanese employee of a machine tool manufacturer. Both are in their 30s.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Official Website

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department believes that the Russian man is affiliated with a science and technology intelligence-gathering organization under the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), and is focusing its investigation on this case as a typical act of espionage. He is suspected of obtaining trade secrets, including plans for new products, from the company employee on two occasions: once in November 2022 and once in February last year.

The Russian man allegedly pretended to be Ukrainian and approached the company employee by asking for directions on a street in Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo. Over the following two years, they reportedly met about ten times at restaurants and other venues, exchanging various information, including some that was already public. It has been found that the Russian man paid several hundred thousand yen in return.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department suspects that the Russian man also targeted technical information that could be diverted for military purposes. He had already returned to his home country in March last year.