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.
The TV station run by Belarus, an ally of Russia, reported on Wednesday that authorities had detained a Japanese intelligence agent. It said that the man had gathered information near the border and filmed military facilities.
The Japanese Embassy in Belarus told NHK on Wednesday that a Japanese man in his 50s was confirmed to have been detained on July 9 for allegedly violating Belarusian law.
The embassy said it is providing support through meetings and other means but declined to disclose the man’s name, his job or whether he has admitted to the charges because the matter is still under investigation.
Belarusian state TV aired footage of the purported detainee identifying himself as “Nakanishi Masatoshi.”
The channel said it will broadcast a special program on Thursday titled “Samurai Failure from Tokyo.”