A former Softbank Corp. employee, arrested on suspicion of illegally obtaining trade secrets of the major Japanese mobile phone carrier, received several tens of thousands of yen from a Russian diplomat, it was learned Monday.

During questioning by the Public Security Bureau of Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department, the former employee, Yutaka Araki, 48, said that he was given the cash in return for providing confidential information to the diplomat stationed at the office of Russia's trade representative in Japan, according to investigative sources.

As Araki said that the diplomat asked him for trade secrets, the bureau is considering sending papers on the Russian official to public prosecutors for allegedly instigating him in violation of the unfair competition prevention law, the sources said.

The bureau arrested Araki on Saturday for allegedly obtaining confidential manuals related to Softbank's mobile phone base stations from a server of the firm on Feb. 18, 2019, in an attempt to gain illegal profits in breach of the law.

According to the sources, Araki told the bureau that he accessed the server as the day on which he was set to meet with the diplomat was approaching.

The diplomat did not reveal his identity or even his contact information to Araki. Every time they met, at restaurants or other locations, the diplomat gave Araki instructions on when they would meet the next time.

The diplomat came to Japan around spring 2017. Araki started to meet with the diplomat about two years ago and was asked first to bring documents that had already been published.

Araki said he suspected the diplomat to be a spy from Russia as the official then asked him for company secrets, but received the cash for pocket money, according to the sources.

As Araki said that he had met with a different Russian national, the bureau suspects that another official at the trade representative office who returned to Russia around mid-2017 was also involved in the case.

JIJI Press