The New York Times reports that Russian intelligence officers are using Japan as a hub to procure high-tech goods necessary for the military invasion of Ukraine.
The US newspaper on Sunday carried an article titled “How Putin Turned Japan Into a Den of Spies” based on interviews with dozens of intelligence and government officials across three continents.
The article says soon after troops invaded Ukraine in 2022, Western leaders expelled hundreds of Russian spies from their capitals. Quoting some officials, the paper says “dozens of those banished spies have turned up in an unexpected place: Japan.”
It also says the Tokyo office of the Russian state airline Aeroflot has become a base where a veteran officer with Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, maintains a cover identity as an employee. The report says the officer plays “a crucial role in supplying Russia’s war machine.”
The paper says that, according to Ukrainian government estimates, 90 percent of Russian missiles and drones contain Japanese components.
It says the Ukrainian side has repeatedly asked the Japanese government to strengthen export controls on high-tech and other products.
The New York Times says “the country’s weak espionage laws and flourishing high-tech industry have made it a crucial piece of the Russian war effort.”