A “honey trap” is a classic scene in spy movies. It is a standard scene in spy movies, but does it exist in reality? Enkaku Katsumaru, who wrote the book “Gaiji Section, Public Security Department, Metropolitan Police Department” (Kobunsha), says, “In fact, Chinese and Russian intelligence agencies actually set honey traps for career bureaucrats and executives of major corporations.
Female spies are forced to live naked in training camps.
In spy movies, honey traps are often mentioned.
The term “honey trap” refers mainly to espionage activities in which female spies use colorful tricks on men.
In conclusion, Japanese public security agencies do not engage in honey traps. The reason is simple and clear: it is too cost-effective.
However, it is still used by foreign intelligence agencies.
The U.S., South Korea, and other countries sometimes use this technique, but it is China and Russia in particular that make heavy use of it. When Russia was the Soviet Union, female spies were forced to live naked in training camps and to have physical relations with male colleagues in order to remove their sense of sexual shame.
During the Cold War, beautiful Soviet spies were mainly active in Europe.
In recent years, Anna Chapman, known as the “spy too beautiful to be true,” is well known.
Chapman, under orders from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), was ostensibly the CEO of a Manhattan, New York, real estate company, but was also a spy who used colorful tricks to gather information on U.S. nuclear warhead development plans and other matters.
Many of his tactics involved “setting him up as a collaborator after the fact.”
While Japan’s public security organs do not engage in honey traps, they can be used to do so.
They come from countries such as China and Russia, and they target not only public security investigators but also career bureaucrats and executives of major corporations.
By the way, you may have an image of honey traps as “trained professional women,” but you are wrong.
While this used to be the case in the past, nowadays, it is not uncommon for people to go to the trouble of training professional honey trappers.
What we do, then, is “retrofitting”.
The method is to know the woman whom the subject likes or is interested in, and “make her into a collaborator later” by giving her money, etc. It may sound a little rough, but it is a method that is used in the past.
This may sound a little rough, but it has been quite successful.
Moreover, it is much easier and cheaper than training professional personnel from scratch, so it is a method that makes sense.
In the case of China, for example, it is often the case that the target woman happens to be a favorite of the target and is later paid money to become a collaborator.
Yukie Nakama” appears everywhere.
A young career diplomat (future ambassador candidate) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went to a bar owned by a Chinese.
When asked by the bar owner what type of woman he liked, he immediately replied Yukie Nakama.
Then later that day, “Yukie Nakama” appeared everywhere.
Yukie Nakama” who apologized to him in a foreign accent when their shoulders touched in a convenience store near his home, “Yukie Nakama” who happened to sit next to him at his favorite bar or tavern, “Yukie Nakama” whom he ran into when he left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on his way home, “Yukie Nakama” whose eyes met his in the train …….
They were all the same person.
He became frightened and wanted to call the police, but his pride as a career diplomat would not allow him to formally consult with the police.
So he contacted me, whom he had known for some time, through the “back door.
Upon investigation, it turned out that this “Yukie Nakama” was a Chinese student.
The other face of the Chinese owner of the bar is that of a spy, and as soon as he heard about the diplomat, he immediately found a woman who looked like Yukie Nakama and could speak Japanese.
To carry out such operations on a daily basis would require a considerable budget and manpower.
Beware of beautiful women approaching you at parties.
It is important to remember that spy agencies are entities that, once they have a target in mind, lavishly devote their budgets and manpower to it and take all possible measures.
At parties hosted by embassies of certain countries, where honey traps are very popular, there are always many beautiful women.
If you work in the Foreign Affairs Division of the Public Security Bureau, you may find yourself at such occasions.
I would nail my male companions in advance, saying, “I’m sure a lot of beautiful women will come to you, but please be careful.
Despite this, when a beautiful woman approaches me with alcohol in her system, I am instantly shaken to the core.
Later, the beautiful woman will contact his companion, but it is absolutely dangerous to take her up on her offer.
To him, who is stretching out his nose, she says, “I know you understand, but it’s dangerous to meet with her. I strongly remind him, “I’m sure you know that, but it’s dangerous to meet with her, and moreover, don’t go to the hotel without going.
If he continues to do this kind of thing repeatedly, even if he meets a woman at a party or reception outside of work, he will first end up greeting her on the spot.
This is because, sadly for public safety, they become defensive. It is normal for women to be defensive, but if a man is overly cautious, the woman will be attracted to him.
So, from the beginning, I try to act naturally at such occasions, discarding the possibility of getting to know the women.
Spies from Around the World Acting in the Dark in Japan
Here, I would like to briefly touch on how we, the Japanese public security police, look at the intelligence agents of various countries.
Russia
There are three main intelligence agencies in Russia.
The FSB (Federal Security Service), which is descended from the KGB (State Security Committee) of the former Soviet Union and engages in counterintelligence activities within Russia, the SVR (Russian Foreign Intelligence Service), which gathers information outside the country, and the GRU (General Directorate of Intelligence, Military General Staff), which is under direct military control (see figure below).
In Japan, FSB and GRU spies who have undergone full-scale training and practice are engaged in intelligence activities.
They attend parties and seminars, exchange business cards, and build their own networks.
[China
Depending on the intelligence interest at the time, elite businessmen, university faculty, successful businessmen, etc. are selected from among Chinese nationals in Japan and engaged in espionage activities by various means, both hard and soft.
Spies are rarely directly involved in the activities and are often intermediated by those who have their own agendas, making it difficult to trace their footsteps.
They are also active in buying talented foreign students, and it is said that an annex outside the embassy compound is involved in this.
If necessary, beautiful foreign students can be used as honey traps.
[Israel
Israel’s secret agent is the Mossad, which often appears in movies and novels.
Because of its presence and influence, Israel is also described as a “spy superpower,” but in fact, the Mossad is not stationed at any Israeli embassy.
In fact, the Mossad is not stationed at any Israeli embassy, but rather, it is a group of ordinary businessmen living in Japan who carry out intelligence activities.
Australia.
Australians are more interested in Japan than we Japanese imagine.
They want Japan to remain a reliable ally.
The main focus of their activities is to improve the Japanese impression of Australia.
The United Kingdom, France, and Italy.
These Western countries are actually not very interested in Japan.
North Korea
They investigate the movements of North Koreans in Japan and recruit and operate North Korean spies and collaborators. In terms of “terrorism in Japan,” North Korea is the most important entity to watch out for.
[South Korea
The ROK gathers information mainly on the activities of the Federation of Korean Industries Unions (FKU).
Like China, it is said that if necessary, they will launch honey traps, but since there is no merit in setting such traps on Japanese people in Japan, we don’t actually hear much about it.
The U.S.
The U.S. is said to be so active in Japan that a book could be written on its activities in Japan alone, and it appears in so many different aspects of the country.
The U.S. has an outstanding capability in terms of budget, manpower, operations, and so on.
Once he determines that something is “necessary,” he will do whatever it takes.
Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore.
These Asian countries are working to find and eliminate the causes of bad impressions of their countries through espionage activities.
What do you feel when you read this?
You may not realize it, but the fact is that intelligence agents from all over the world exist in your immediate vicinity, carrying out secret missions on a daily basis.
