News Japanese national detained in Belarus

[thomas]

So Japan has intelligence operatives in Belarus...

A Belarusian state-owned television channel on Wednesday announced the arrest of a "Japanese intelligence operative" in the country. They released a teaser for a special program about the individual, scheduled to air on Thursday. The video showed the man, Masatoshi Nakanishi, admitting in Russian that his activities "may have been a danger to Belarus." In response to the news, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, stated that the detained individual "has no particular health issues" but declined to provide further details. He refused to comment on the reasons for the arrest or the individual's identity.

The Japanese Embassy in Belarus, a country that was formerly a part of the Soviet Union and still maintains close ties to Russia, separately said a Japanese man in his 50s was taken into custody after allegedly violating a domestic law on 9 July. The embassy said its staff is providing in-person consular assistance. The Belarusian broadcaster said Nakanishi collected intelligence on political and social matters as well as the situation at the Belarus-Ukraine border. It also alleges he took images of a military facility. The program is titled, "The Failure of a Samurai from Tokyo," with the teaser video also saying he traveled to the Gomel region in southeastern Belarus on a "special mission. A person named Masatoshi Nakanishi is listed as a Japanese teacher on the website of Francisk Skorina Gomel State University and a government source confirmed it is the same person who has been detained.

Japanese man held in Belarus on spying allegations: local broadcaster - The Mainichi

MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- A Belarusian state-run television channel broadcast a video Wednesday in which it said a

mainichi.jp

Japanese man reportedly detained in Belarus | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Belarusian state television reported that a Japanese national has been detained for gathering information near the country's border with Ukraine and engaging in other activities.

www3.nhk.or.jp

 

[mdchachi]

He might not be sponsored by the state. There have been individuals that have gone to fight or help Ukraine on their own.

 

[Karlington]

So Japan has intelligence operatives in Belarus...

A Belarusian state-owned television channel on Wednesday announced the arrest of a "Japanese intelligence operative" in the country. They released a teaser for a special program about the individual, scheduled to air on Thursday. The video showed the man, Masatoshi Nakanishi, admitting in Russian that his activities "may have been a danger to Belarus." In response to the news, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, stated that the detained individual "has no particular health issues" but declined to provide further details. He refused to comment on the reasons for the arrest or the individual's identity.

Japanese man held in Belarus on spying allegations: local broadcaster - The Mainichi

MOSCOW (Kyodo) -- A Belarusian state-run television channel broadcast a video Wednesday in which it said a

mainichi.jp

Japanese man reportedly detained in Belarus | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Belarusian state television reported that a Japanese national has been detained for gathering information near the country's border with Ukraine and engaging in other activities.

www3.nhk.or.jp

He might not be sponsored by the state. There have been individuals that have gone to fight or help Ukraine on their own.

It might also be bogus charges. A "confession" from someone detained in Belarus isn't worth the blood-stained paper it's written on.

 

[thomas]

It might also be bogus charges.

That's the conclusion Asahi drew.

He made frequent trips to an area near the border with Ukraine to take photos of railroads and bridges and gather military intelligence, the Belarusian program said.

The program also showed secretly filmed footage of Nakanishi taking pictures in a park and at a train station. But many of the images showed other people as well.

He'll probably be sent back to Japan soon.

Belarus TV show lacks any solid evidence about Japanese ‘spy’ | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

 

[thomas]

Nakanishi Masatoshi, who was arrested in Belarus in July, has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage charges, prosecutors in Minsk announced yesterday. He is accused of capturing over 9,000 photos of the border region between Belarus and Ukraine over six years and sending them to Japan. Reportedly, Nakanishi was employed as a Japanese language instructor at an educational institution linked to a national university in southeastern Belarus.

Japanese man handed 7-year sentence for espionage in Belarus | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Belarusian prosecutors say a Japanese man who was detained in Belarus last year for alleged espionage has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

www3.nhk.or.jp

Paywall alert:

Japanese man sentenced to 7 years in prison for espionage in Belarus

Language teacher alleged to have taken over 9,000 photos of border area

asia.nikkei.com

 

[thomas]

Turns out he was a tetsudo otaku (鉄道オタク), a railway geek.

「嘘ついたらどうなるか分かりませんよ」と脅され、歯向かうと“往復ビンタ”も…ベラルーシで拘束された日本人（25）が語る、獄中での“衝撃体験” | 文春オンライン

2024年12月、鉄道撮影に訪れたベラルーシで拘束された照井希衣さん（25）。ソ連邦構成国の中で、ベラルーシは未だに秘密警察KGB（国家保安委員会）の組織を維持しており、照井さんはKGBの調査対象と…

bunshun.jp

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