Foreign Man Gets 12-year Prison Sentence in China over Spying

A Chinese district court on Tuesday convicted a Japanese man in his 50s of espionage, sentencing him to 12 years in prison, the Japanese Consulate-General in Shanghai confirmed.
Authorities detained the unnamed individual in Shanghai in December 2021, arrested him formally in June 2022, and filed formal charges in August 2023.
Japanese Consul-General Masaru Okada was permitted to attend the trial, though the consulate refrained from disclosing specifics of the verdict.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to media inquiries about the case on Wednesday, urging Japan to respect China’s judicial sovereignty. In a regular press briefing, spokesperson Lin Jian emphasized that Chinese judicial authorities had conducted the case strictly in line with legal procedures.