News Human Rights Watch: China targeting its citizens in Japan

Chinese authorities have been intimidating Chinese citizens residing in Japan who have participated in activities deemed subversive by Beijing, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch on Thursday. Interviews conducted by the organization with 25 individuals, including those from Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia, revealed that Chinese police or the Chinese Embassy in Japan had made contact with them or their relatives in China, exerting pressure to cease their activities in Japan. The organisation stated that the interviewees have engaged in non-violent activities, such as organizing public events to raise awareness of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, promoting Tibetan culture, and hosting book discussions featuring works by Inner Mongolian activists.

The report said a woman was arrested in 2023 upon returning to Hong Kong for posting pro-democratic comments online during her studies in Japan, while another individual who promoted Tibetan culture in Japan was told to return to Tibet to renew their passport. A man from Xinjiang said that when he received a call from a relative asking him to return home a police officer came on the line and told him he "could not guarantee what would happen to your family" unless he complied with his relative's request. He was later contacted on a messaging app by a police officer telling him to provide information about activists in Japan, Human Rights Watch said.

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