Police on Thursday arrested a Chinese researcher at Japan's national institute of industrial technology for allegedly leaking data to a Chinese company, an investigative source said.
Quan Hengdao is suspected of emailing research data on fluorine compounds to the Chinese firm on April 13, 2018, in violation of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, the source said. The 59-year-old worked on the data at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Ibaraki Prefecture.
It was not immediately known whether he had admitted to the allegation. The suspect also taught at the Beijing Institute of Technology, which is believed to have links to China's military, said the source.
Fluorine compounds are used as an insulating gas and employed as an insulator in electrical equipment such as transformers.
The police searched his home and confiscated materials on Thursday after the institute had reported the breach.
"It is very regrettable that our staff member was arrested. We'll fully cooperate with the investigation and deal with the matter strictly," the institute said.
