Belarus says it has detained Japanese intelligence agent

(Reuters) -Belarusian security forces have detained a suspected Japanese intelligence agent alleged to have observed border areas and military installations of the ex-Soviet state and Russian ally, Belarusian media reported on Wednesday.

Media outlets said Belarusian state-owned TV channel Belarus 1 reported the arrest and said it would provide more details on Thursday.

Belarusian media said the detained Japanese national was allegedly involved in gathering intelligence on social and economic conditions in Belarus, the implementation of China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative and the situation along Belarus’s border with Ukraine.

The reports said he was filming military infrastructure.

Japan’s embassy in Belarus confirmed the detention of a Japanese man in his 50s on July 9 for what the authorities called a breach of local laws, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular Thursday press conference.

The man in custody had no health issues, Hayashi said citing the embassy staff, while declining to comment on the reason for his detention.

U.S.-funded Radio Liberty quoted the Belarusian television report as saying the man was detained in the southeastern city of Gomel and had displayed interest in the “broadest spheres of interest” in the country.

It said the man had previously taught Japanese at a university in the city, his wife’s home town, and organised an exhibition of Japanese culture and traditions.

Liberty quoted him as acknowledging that his activity could have been detrimental to the Belarusian state.

Belarus, led by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, is one of Russia’s closest allies and allowed Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to use its territory to launch the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The media reports said it was the first instance of a Japanese national being implicated in intelligence activity.

Japan has placed sanctions on Belarusian entities, such as asset freeze and export ban measures, as part of its effort to cut support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A German national was convicted in June of terrorism and mercenary activity in Belarus and sentenced to death, but was freed as part of a mass exchange of prisoners between Russia, Belarus, the United States and other countries.

(Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Stephen Coates)