In recent years, Chinese nationals have been exposed for spying on Japanese companies. Enkaku Katsumaru, a former public security police officer who supervised “VIVANT,” says, “The first reason for using foreign students and those who have studied abroad is that they are less likely to be suspected by the Japanese. The following is an excerpt from Enkaku Katsumaru’s latest book, “諜・無法地帯 暗躍するスパイたち” (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha, Ltd.).
One of the major characteristics of China’s intelligence agencies is their use of foreign students. In particular, recently there has been an increasing tendency to recruit foreign students as spies. Starting with students currently studying abroad, Chinese students who have studied abroad or are continuing to stay in Japan after studying abroad, and Chinese nationals who have found employment at Japanese companies are targeted for recruitment.
The reason for using foreign students and those who have studied abroad is, first of all, that they are less likely to be suspected by the Japanese. Also, it is more efficient. Some may wonder if such a thing is really possible. However, it is actually happening. In fact, there was an attempt by the Chinese side to steal information from a Japanese company called B. At that time, they approached a Chinese person who was a former foreign student at Company B.
Of course, even non-Japanese students can be forced to cooperate in espionage. They recruit and spy on people using the same kind of language as they do with foreign students. And once they cooperate, it is difficult to get out, which is the scary part of Chinese espionage. The other party will have a variety of personal information on you and threaten you that you will never be able to return to a normal life as long as you have betrayed the company. In some cases, the victims get so scared that they actually run to the police, and in such cases, the police are there to help. First, the victim is given a security guard, and then they go to see the person who is actually forcing them to spy on them and tell them that a damage report will be filed, and the other spy will have no choice but to give up.
For example, in an espionage case uncovered in 2020 that took place at Sekisui Chemical, a major chemical manufacturer in Osaka, Japan, an employee leaked smartphone-related technology to a Chinese company. The employee was eventually convicted of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law. In this case, an employee of Chaozhou Sanhuan Group, a telecommunications equipment parts manufacturer based in a Chinese province, contacted a Sekisui Chemical employee on LinkedIn, a social networking service, and had him send trade secrets. Moreover, it was also discovered that this employee had left the company and found a job at another Chinese company.
In 2021, an arrest warrant was issued for a former international student who received instructions from the wife of a soldier in the People’s Liberation Army to attempt to defraud a Japanese company by illegally purchasing antivirus software, which was not available in China. However, the Japanese police were unable to arrest the former student because he had already returned to Japan and was in China. The former student was also found to have sent a USB memory stick to China at the behest of the wife of the same soldier, and to have signed a contract with a rental server in Japan that allowed him to conduct cyber attacks from outside Japan. The rented servers were later used in cyber operations targeting confidential information of about 200 research institutes and companies, including defense-related companies such as Mitsubishi Electric and IHI, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The Japanese police authorities are more vigilant than ever in the face of these continuing cases. In particular, since the first Kishida administration, the creation of the Minister of State for Economic Security in the Cabinet Office has changed the flow of foreign affairs police in many significant ways. In economic security, the primary focus has been China.
In October 2020, the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Division of the National Police Agency’s Security Bureau established a dedicated economic security unit with a primary focus on Russia and China. The Foreign Affairs Police of the 47 prefectural and metropolitan police departments began to visit companies to show them how to deal with industrial espionage. They have also begun holding study sessions with company officials. Furthermore, the Public Security Bureau has been studying the anti-Chinese espionage videos produced and released by the FBI, and has produced similar videos and released them for Japanese viewers.
It has also begun to contact companies that are actually being victimized to warn them.
This is now a major trend among foreign affairs police. This is an attempt to actively introduce their methods and to make the people involved in the companies aware of suspicious activities. Not so long ago, it would have been impossible for the public security bureaucracy to tell the private sector about espionage tactics, because the information would have been leaked to the spies. This was because the information would be leaked to the spies and they would take countermeasures. However, the situation has become too serious to say so any longer, and in addition, it has reached a level that cannot be dealt with by the manpower of the police alone. Industrial espionage is being launched by a variety of countries, but unless we cast a wide net, we will not be able to confront a cunning opponent like China.
Even private security firms are seeing an increase in the number of companies consulting with them. Since economic security includes cybersecurity threats, there is also a growing demand in that area. In fact, before the creation of the Minister of Economic Security, it was unthinkable that people from the foreign affairs police and others would move into the private sector to provide counter-espionage and economic security-related services, as I am currently doing. However, nowadays, the police seem to welcome the activities of former police officers in the private sector to promote counter-espionage and other services, and I have the impression that the atmosphere on the police side has completely changed.
Since the outreach activities began, the number of reports and consultations with the police has increased. This may indicate that the public’s awareness is changing.
Enkaku Katsumaru
Enkaku joined the Metropolitan Police Department in the mid-1990s and gained experience in public safety and foreign affairs in the early 2000s. He is currently working as a security consultant in Japan and abroad, and is the Public Safety Supervisor of “VIVANT,” a TBS Sunday theater. He is also the author of the book “Gaiji Section, Public Security Department, Metropolitan Police Department” (Kobunsha).
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