News NYT: Why Japan became a safe haven for Russian spies

After a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck a residential tower block in Kyiv in May, killing at least 24 people, investigators searched the wreckage. A Ukrainian assessment found that the missile had been guided by Japanese-made components, despite broad export bans on such technology being in place.

Using confidential government documents, company records, and interviews with dozens of intelligence and government officials across three continents, The New York Times traced the operations of Russia's 20th Directorate and the important role its Tokyo station played in supporting President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine. Most of those interviewed spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss intelligence matters publicly.

Ukrainian officials have provided Japan with evidence that Japanese technology is being used in Russian attacks, according to documents and interviews. Yet despite Tokyo's outspoken support for Ukraine, the Japanese government has been slow to respond.

Japan has long been known as a spy paradise, in part because of post-World War II constraints imposed by the victors that have kept the country's intelligence services weak. Japan does not even have a foreign intelligence agency. Officials say that they recognise the espionage threat and are working to remove decades-old restrictions on intelligence gathering. [...] The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to detailed questions about espionage but said that the government had worked with Western allies to ban the export of military-related items to Russia. [...] Nevertheless, Russian spies appear to be operating right under the noses of the Japanese authorities. Aeroflot's office in Tokyo is a 10-minute walk from the headquarters of the National Police Agency, which investigates espionage. Western intelligence officials say that it is there, in the airline office, on the 22nd floor, that the 20th Directorate's man in Tokyo runs his deadly operation.

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Japanese media start picking up the NYT investigation:

Asked about the U.S. media report that Japan has become a base for Russian intelligence activity, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara declined to comment on the specifics. "We are aware of the report you mentioned, but as this concerns an individual matter, I would like to refrain from answering," Kihara said. Kihara added that the need to respond to foreign intelligence activities, including the theft of important information, is growing. He said Japan is taking action under existing laws, including the Act on the Protection of Specially Designated Secrets, and must respond even more strictly.

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Currently, Japan is planning a centralised intelligence agency, and officials have quietly sought advice from the United States, Australia and Germany on everything from technology and staffing to organisational priorities. Japan's intelligence system has long been fragmented, with the police, the defence ministry, diplomats and other agencies collecting and analysing information largely in isolation. Critics say that it has left the country more exposed to espionage and foreign influence operations. The move is said to be a key part of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's broader security agenda.

After lifting restrictions on arms exports and pushing through Japan's largest post-war military build-up, its government now wants stronger protection for state secrets and sensitive technologies, while stepping up efforts to counter foreign influence campaigns, particularly those linked to China. One example cited by researchers at the Citizen Lab is a network of websites posing as Japanese-language news outlets that allegedly spread pro-Beijing disinformation.


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A Russian man identified by The New York Times as an officer with Russia's GRU military intelligence agency left Japan immediately after the newspaper published its report earlier this month.

According to Japanese intelligence sources, the man is believed to have arrived in Japan around February 2024, when he took up his post as the head of the airline's Tokyo office. It has been confirmed that he left Japan soon after the New York Times report, the sources said.

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