China Court to Issue Ruling on Japanese Businessman on Wed.

   Beijing, July 11 (Jiji Press)--A district court in Beijing will hand down a ruling Wednesday on a Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma Inc., who has been charged with espionage in China, sources familiar with Japan-China relations have said.
   Earlier this week, the court informed the Japanese Embassy in Beijing of the date of the sentencing hearing, and arrangements are being made for an embassy official to attend the hearing.
   The employee of the major Japanese drugmaker was detained by Chinese authorities in March 2023, just before his scheduled return to Japan following the completion of his expatriate assignment in China.
   While the Japanese national was indicted in August last year, the Chinese side has not disclosed details of his charges.
   The first court hearing of his trial was held last November. In China, trials on cases involving national security are held behind closed doors in principle, so details of the trial on the Japanese individual are not known.

(2025/07/11-09:17)