TOKYO: Japan has acknowledged the need to strengthen its counter-intelligence capabilities after a report alleged that Russia has been using the country as a major hub for espionage and the procurement of technology with potential military applications.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on Monday that the government recognised the growing threat posed by foreign intelligence operations in an increasingly complex security environment.
“We recognise that in a rapidly changing security environment, there is a growing need to counter foreign intelligence activities, including the acquisition of critical information that threatens Japan’s national security,” Kihara told reporters.
Although he declined to comment directly on an investigation published by The New York Times, Kihara stressed that Japan must address the issue with greater determination.
The newspaper’s report claimed that Russia has exploited what it described as Japan’s relatively weak espionage laws to establish an extensive intelligence and procurement network.
According to the report, the country has become an important source of dual-use technologies and electronic components that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, supporting Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine.
The investigation, citing estimates from the Ukrainian government, alleged that Japanese-made components are found in around 90 per cent of Russian missiles and drones.
It further claimed that Russia’s intelligence activities in Japan were overseen by Maksim Vladimirovich Filchenkov, who was identified as a Russian intelligence operative allegedly working under diplomatic cover at the Tokyo office of Russia’s national carrier, Aeroflot.
With direct exports of many sensitive goods to Russia restricted under international sanctions, the report said procurement networks have increasingly relied on intermediary companies and third countries, including Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka, to obtain the required components before they are shipped onwards to Russia.
Kihara also noted that Japan’s parliament had recently approved legislation to establish a new national intelligence coordination body.
The proposed organisation is intended to improve cooperation among the country’s various intelligence agencies and strengthen Japan’s ability to detect and respond to foreign espionage activities.
Japan has gradually tightened its national security framework in recent years amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific and growing concerns over foreign intelligence operations targeting sensitive technologies and strategic industries.
