China's state security authority detained a Japanese professor of Hokkaido University in early September in Beijing, according to Japanese government sources.
It is believed the professor in his 40s is suspected by Chinese authorities of spying and other suspicious activities.
The Chinese government is strengthening its efforts to root out spies, including the enactment of an anti-spy law in 2014, which obliges Chinese nationals to cooperate in investigations into espionage activities.
The state security authority is responsible for clamping down on spy activities that the Chinese government regards as threats to national security.
Since 2015, there have been a series of incidents in which Japanese citizens were detained in China on suspicion of spying and other charges. So far, nine Japanese have been indicted, with all but one -- a male employee of major trading company Itochu Corp., who was detained in February last year -- having received guilty verdicts.
In the latest case, the male professor of Hokkaido University is known for his research on the Second Sino-Japanese War, and has written an academic report on the history of China's security organizations.
The professor was also a co-author of an academic report analyzing the development process and other aspects of the Chinese military.
In terms of Japan-China relations, China's State Security Minister Chen Wenqing, who heads the Chinese intelligence organizations that command the state security authority, secretly visited Japan in autumn last year and met with senior Japanese officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Public Security Intelligence Agency.
While exchanges between the two countries' intelligence authorities have been progressing, China has shown disregard to the Japanese side this time with its stance of forcibly detaining a Japanese academic person.
As the facts of the detainment become known, it has become further source of concern between the Japanese and Chinese governments ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's scheduled state visit to Japan in the spring of next year.
The incident is also likely to affect academic exchanges between Japan and China.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
