A senior vice minister at the farm ministry admitted Wednesday he had met the Chinese diplomat suspected of spying, among other unlawful activities, a revelation the opposition plans to press the government about in the Diet.
Nobutaka Tsutsui, senior vice minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, told reporters they met at his office while leading a project to promote Japanese agricultural exports to China, but denied any "close ties" to the diplomat or that he had ever given him classified material.
The 45-year-old diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo left Japan after rejecting a request by Tokyo police to submit to questioning in mid-May over allegations he opened bank accounts using fraudulent documents and engaged in commercial activities in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.