China's conviction against Japanese man for spying finalized
On July 16, a court in Beijing sentenced the man in his 60s to three and a half years in jail for involvement in espionage. He worked in China for many years as an employee of major Japanese drug maker Astellas Pharma.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing says he did not lodge an appeal by the deadline on Monday.
Sources revealed that the court had handed down the ruling after considering the man's willingness to admit his guilt and receive the punishment.
The man was detained in Beijing in March 2023 by Chinese security authorities. It remains unclear what caused him to make the reported guilty plea.
A total of 17 Japanese nationals have been detained in China for alleged spying since 2015. The man is the 12th Japanese to be given a prison sentence. The jail terms for the Japanese convicts have ranged from 3 to 15 years.
The Japanese government says it will continue to demand the prompt release of the five citizens who are still being held in China.
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