Tokyo Police Warn Of Russian Industrial Espionage Attempts
Investigative sources have told NHK that Tokyo police have warned several Japanese high-tech companies about a Russian trade official suspected of approaching their employees in an apparent attempt to engage in industrial espionage.
The sources say that last year an official from the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Japan was spotted outside several high-tech Japanese firms and seen approaching some of their employees.
The official, speaking Japanese, reportedly made it look as if he were just stopping to ask for directions. The person was then seen asking for contact information, or inviting employees to dine with him.
Tokyo police suspect that this is part of a Russian attempt to conduct industrial espionage operations.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department warned the Japanese high-tech firms concerned and their employees to be careful about foreign nationals who might approach them as part of such operations.
The sources say it is very unusual for police to warn businesses about a potential risk before any espionage has been exposed.
The police reportedly took the step in the interest of economic security, as they decided that an investigation into the case would not by itself prevent the possibility of valuable information being leaked.
In 2020, a former employee of the Japanese telecom giant SoftBank received a 2-year sentence, suspended for 4 years, for acquiring sensitive corporate information illegally to respond to a request from a senior official with the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in Japan.