{"id":58129,"date":"2026-07-14T13:57:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/58129\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:57:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:57:18","slug":"japan-admits-need-to-counter-espionage-after-russian-den-of-spies-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/58129\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan Admits Need to Counter Espionage After Russian \u2018Den of Spies\u2019 Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japan has said that it recognizes the need to counter foreign intelligence better after the New York Times reported that Russia had turned the country into a “den of spies” and a key source of weapons components.<\/p>\n

The newspaper, in an investigation published Sunday, reported that thanks to “weak espionage laws,” Moscow was using Japan as a hub for intelligence gathering and procurement of dual-use technology needed for its war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

“We recognise that in a rapidly changing security environment there is a growing need to counter foreign intelligence activities \u2014 such as the acquisition of critical information \u2014 that threaten Japan’s national security,” chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara said on Monday.<\/p>\n

Declining to comment directly on NYT’s report, Kihara told reporters that Tokyo “must address this issue with even greater rigor.”<\/p>\n

Kihara added that Japan’s parliament this year approved legislation paving the way for the creation of a new national body to coordinate its fragmented intelligence activities.<\/p>\n

\t\tnews
\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tAfter 80 Years, Russia and Japan Still Can\u2019t Agree on Who These Islands Belong To
\n\t\t\tRead more
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The NYT report cited Ukrainian government estimates that 90% of Russian missiles and drones contain Japanese components.<\/p>\n

It said that Russia’s operations in Japan were being run by Maksim Vladimirovich Filchenkov, a Russian intelligence operative working under cover at the Tokyo office of Russian airline Aeroflot.<\/p>\n

Because direct exports to Russia are restricted, procurement networks use intermediary companies and third countries like Vietnam, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka to move components into Russia, the report added.<\/p>\n

A Message from The Moscow Times:<\/p>\n

Dear readers,<\/p>\n

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has designated The Moscow Times as an “undesirable” organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a “foreign agent.”<\/p>\n

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work “discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership.” We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.<\/p>\n

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It’s quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.<\/p>\n

By supporting The Moscow Times, you’re defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tContinue\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"paiment<\/p>\n

Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.<\/p>\n

\u00d7<\/p>\n

\t\tRemind me next month<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tThank you! Your reminder is set.\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\tWe will send you one reminder email a month from now. For details on the personal data we collect and how it is used, please see our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan has said that it recognizes the need to counter foreign intelligence better after the New York Times…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10120,8],"class_list":["post-58129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-espionage","tag-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}