Japan Says CCP’s ‘Anti-Espionage Law’ Discourages Travel, Calls for Release of Japanese Detainees

Japan’s foreign affairs minister is seeking to free 17 Japanese nationals detained in China under the law.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya gives a speech to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) during the Japan-China high-level economic dialogue in Tokyo on March 22, 2025. Philip Fong/ POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Iwaya Takeshi said on March 22 that Beijing’s Counter-Espionage Law lacks transparency and called for the release of Japanese individuals detained under the law.

During the Sixth China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue in Tokyo on March 22, attended by eight officials from each country, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Takeshi said the law, implemented in 2014, discourages Japanese citizens from visiting and doing business in China.