TOKYO: Tokyo police on Saturday arrested a former employee of major Japanese mobile phone carrier Softbank Corp. on suspicion of illegally obtaining trade secrets of the firm after being instigated by two officials at the office of the Russian trade representative in Japan.

Held by the Metropolitan Police Department for alleged violation of the unfair competition prevention law was Yutaka Araki, a 48-year-old resident of the city of Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.

The police also requested the two Russian men, believed to be intelligence officials, to appear for questioning through organizations including the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The MPD suspects that Araki illegally accessed a Softbank server on Feb. 18 last year and obtained two sets of trade secrets to which he had been related.

One of the Russian officials, who is a diplomat, is suspected of having abetted Araki to get the information. The other, who may also have been involved in the case, returned to Russia around spring 2017, according to the police.

Araki, who was fired after the incident came to light, admitted to the charges, saying that he was instigated and handed the trade secrets to the Russian side as he wanted some pocket money, sources in the police department said.

The police searched the company and Araki's house last month for evidence of his involvement in the illegal information leak. The MPD is investigating the possibility of Araki leaking more trade secrets.

In a statement released Saturday over the arrest of the former employee, Softbank offered a deep apology to all people and parties concerned while noting that highly confidential information, such as on privacy of communications, was not included at all in the leaked data.

Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Tokyo expressed regret following the arrest, saying on Facebook that it was based on anti-Russian speculation.

The latest development goes against Russia-Japan agreements to create a positive atmosphere for promoting bilateral cooperation and resolving difficult issues between the two countries, the embassy said.   

JIJI Press