BEIJING (Reuters) – China has arranged for Japanese embassy officials to visit a Japanese citizen detained on suspicion of espionage, China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, after the arrest dealt an outsized blow to the two countries’ close economic ties.
Japan said late in October China had formally arrested a Japanese businessman detained in March on suspicion of spying.
In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier in November, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sought the swift release of the man.
Japanese Ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi on Tuesday met for the first time the senior Astellas Pharma employee arrested last month on suspicion of espionage, Kyodo News reported, citing a Japanese government official.
“The Chinese side has arranged officials of the Japanese embassy in China to conduct a consular visit for relevant parties,” said Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry.
“China, as a country under the rule of law, has handled the case in accordance with law and protects the legitimate rights and interests of the person concerned,” Wang said at a regular news conference, without identifying the Japanese citizen.
The Japanese business executive has been named in several media reports as Hiroshi Nishiyama.
The arrest of the well-connected veteran of the Japanese community in China has had a considerable chilling effect on business ties, some Tokyo officials have said.
The Chinese foreign ministry previously said China had always supported China-Japan trade and economic cooperation, and had provided a good environment for the lawful operation of Japanese companies in China and their employees.
Five Japanese nationals are currently detained in China, with a total of 17 detained since 2015, a year after China introduced an anti-espionage law for the first time, according to Japan’s foreign ministry.
Under the law, Chinese authorities can clamp down on activities they consider as threats to national security. The law was expanded in July this year to include the leak of any documents, data and information related to national security.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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