TOKYO: The Japanese government has lodged a protest with Belarusian authorities over the broadcast of a TV programme about detained Japanese citizen Masatoshi Nakanishi, who Minsk has called an agent of the Japanese secret service, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday, reported Sputnik.
“We have persistently demanded the cancellation of the programme, and we are extremely disappointed that it was still aired. After it was broadcast, we lodged a protest with the Belarusian government,“ Hayashi told a press conference, adding that the Japanese government would continue to provide all possible support to protect the interests of Japanese citizens.
Earlier this week, the Belarus 1 broadcaster reported that an agent of the Japanese secret service had been detained in Belarus on suspicion of collecting information and taking illegal photographs, including of military infrastructure. Japanese authorities have confirmed the detention, which took place this summer, and said that Nakanishi is receiving consular assistance.
Nakanishi told Belarus 1 on Thursday that his data could be used by Ukraine or the United States in a potential missile attack on Belarus.
The head of the investigative department of the Belarusian State Security Committee, Konstantin Bychek, stated that Nakanishi had collected and transmitted various military information related to the Ukraine conflict and sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus. According to the charges, he could face between three and seven years in prison.
- Bernama, Sputnik
