TOKYO: A researcher from China was arrested in Japan on Thursday for allegedly giving a Chinese company access to secret technology knowledge according to Tokyo police.
A police spokesperson speaking to AFP said that the 59-year-old man, who worked for a Japanese research institute, has been detained on suspicion of breaking the law regarding unfair competition.
According to the spokesman, who declined to be identified, the man allegedly “emailed information about technologies linked to synthesizing a fluorine compound from an email account he held at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology to a company in China” in April 2018. The transfer of cutting-edge technology to China has drawn growing criticism from the US and its allies, particularly Japan.
Last year, Washington restricted China’s access to high-end chips and chip-making equipment, citing national security concerns. Washington said it wanted to prevent the technology that could aid in developing advanced military weapons by China’s armed forces and intelligence services.
It has pressed its allies to follow suit, and the Netherlands and Japan recently announced new export reductions on chipmaking technology without naming China. Over the last decade, Beijing has invested billions of dollars in developing its own semiconductor industry and has filed a protest with the World Trade Organisation over the US restrictions.
