A Japanese woman convicted for espionage in China has been released after serving a six-year prison sentence in Shanghai, a source privy to bilateral relations said Thursday.
The woman, who is of Chinese origin, was detained in Shanghai in June 2015. The then executive of a Tokyo-based Japanese language school was indicted in July the following year. The source, however, said the specifics of what she did remain unknown.
The Shanghai Intermediate People's Court sentenced her to six years in prison for spying in December 2018.
Since 2015, more than 10 Japanese citizens were detained in China on various charges, including espionage. She is the third Japanese since that time to be released after being convicted.
China has been stepping up its scrutiny of foreign organizations and individuals in the name of protecting national security since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013.
Not only Japanese but a number of other foreign nationals have been held in China, particularly after a counterespionage law took effect in 2014 and a national security law in 2015.
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