Russian spies who descended on Japan in recent years are now central to smuggling battlefield technology to Moscow — apparently right under the nose of the authorities in Tokyo, The New York Times reported.
The operatives were expelled from Western nations after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine; now, in Japan, a secretive intelligence unit poses as diplomats and businesspeople, The Times wrote in a sweeping investigation that also exposed the man leading the operation in Tokyo.
Japan has been a “spy paradise” for decades given its lax espionage laws.
Ukraine has raised the issue with Japanese officials — the spies help ship sensitive Japanese technology that Moscow uses against Ukraine — but Tokyo has reportedly been slow to act.