Japan is asking universities for greater scrutiny of foreign students and scholars to prevent technology leaks to places like China, partly for its own national security but also to safeguard exchanges with U.S. and European universities.
While many Western countries have measures to prevent espionage on their campuses with strict screening and penalties for breaches, experts say Japan has been a weak link given its often-unchecked embrace of foreign students.
A string of U.S. arrests of Chinese academics in recent years over suspicion of spying was a wake-up call for Japan, officials say.