Another Japanese is being held by Chinese authorities over charges that might include espionage, a Japanese government source said Friday, bringing the tally since 2015 to a dozen.
While the exact charges remain unclear, China may have suspected the man in his 60s of spying because the area where he was taken into custody, Liaoning province, hosts military facilities, including a shipyard for aircraft carriers.
According to the source, Chinese authorities informed Japan of his detention in May and said he was being held for "violating Chinese domestic laws." This basically coincided with an announcement by China the same month that six Japanese had been detained for suspected involvement in "illegal activities."
The men were in China to assist geological assessments for Chinese hot spring developers.
At least five other Japanese have been detained for similar reasons since 2015, and court hearings are under way involving four of them.
Under Chinese law, the maximum penalty for spying is death.
China has ratcheted up its scrutiny of foreign organizations and individuals in the name of national security since President Xi Jinping came to power more than four years ago.
It has also tightened control over lawyers, journalists and civil groups and passed laws designed to fend off what the Communist Party sees as internal and external threats, such as a new cybersecurity law that took effect Thursday.
The activation of a counterespionage law in 2014 and a national security law in 2015 has resulted in several Japanese and other foreign people being detained in China.
