TOKYO: A Japanese man in his 50s was detained by Belarusian authorities on July 9 for alleged domestic law violation, Chief Cabinet Secretary HAYASHI Yoshimasa said Thursday.

The man has been confirmed to be in good health through a meeting with a Japanese embassy official, Hayashi told a press conference. “The Japanese government will provide as much support as possible,” he added.

Belarusian state television reported Wednesday that a Japanese intelligence agent has been detained in Belarus.

Introducing part of a documentary video set to air on Thursday, the Belarusian state TV said that the Japanese agent was allegedly involved in intelligence gathering on Belarus’ cooperation with China’s Belt and Road infrastructure project and the situation along Belarus’ border with Ukraine.

Hayashi declined to reveal details of the Japanese man, including his identity, saying that this is a matter under investigation by local authorities and amounts to personal information.

It remains to be seen whether the man is the reported intelligence agent, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said.

Facing the camera in the Belarusian state TV video, an Asian man who identified himself as “Nakanishi Masatoshi” said in Russian that his activities may be posing danger to Belarus.

The video also showed a scene in which Belarusian authorities seem to be watching the man taking pictures of military facilities and others before his reported detention.

In Belarus in 2022, a man with a Japanese mother was sentenced to 16 years in prison for participating in protests over the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Among recent cases, a German man was detained in Belarus and sentenced to death in late June on terrorism and other charges, but returned home on Aug. 1 in a prisoner exchange after being granted amnesty. The man had also appeared in a state TV documentary that aired in late July.

JIJI Press