Astellas Employee Makes No Appeal against Conviction

   Beijing, July 28 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma Inc. of Japan, who has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for espionage in China, did not appeal the ruling by a deadline of Monday, officials at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing said.
   The employee in his 60s will serve the sentence.
   He was detained by Chinese authorities in March 2023 just before returning to Japan after his term in China, and was indicted in August 2024.
   On July 16 this year, a Chinese regional court recognized his espionage activities, saying that he had been paid to provide information on China's politics and economy to intelligence agencies. The pre-trial detention is included in his sentence.
   The detention of Japanese nationals in China remains a contentious issue between Tokyo and Beijing, with the Japanese government calling for their early release.

(2025/07/28-21:17)