TOKYO (TR) – In 1997, Japanese authorities investigated a Russian man of Asian descent who was suspected of finishing up intelligence gathering actions domestically for over 30 years.
The little identified case is a story of espionage, love, hidden microfilm and delayed prosecution, in response to Sankei Shimbun (Nov. 9).
The Russian spy started his covert operation by taking up the identification of a person from Fukushima Prefecture who had disappeared round 1965. The spy was mentioned to have been a member of Russia’s SVR (Overseas Intelligence Service, previously the KGB).
The spy was employed by a buying and selling firm in Tokyo the next yr below the Fukushima man’s title. He’s believed to have traveled domestically and internationally below the pretense of occurring enterprise journeys abroad. In doing so, he gathered political, financial and army intelligence.
In some unspecified time in the future, the spy married a Japanese lady who was unaware of his background. On the floor, he lived the lifetime of a Japanese buying and selling firm worker.
In July 1997, the Public Safety Bureau of Tokyo Metropolitan Police raided his residence in Nerima Ward. In the course of the search, his actions of espionage had been uncovered.
Based mostly on the obtained info, the spy obtained Morse code alerts on the dwelling utilizing a high-performance shortwave radio, which he translated into written directions.
“Lifeless drop contact”
As a method of safety, he positioned hairs on home windows and desk drawers earlier than he left the residence. If hairs had been minimize or fell out, it will be an indication that the door had been opened whereas he was away.
The data was distributed utilizing a way referred to as “lifeless drop contact,” whereby microfilm was hidden in locations unlikely to expertise adjustments, corresponding to shrines, temples and cemeteries. After an company staffer retrieved the microfilm, they ensured that the actual location was not used a second time.
By the point Public Safety Bureau issued a global arrest warrant for the spy for getting into and leaving the nation on a false passport, he had fled to Beijing. He by no means returned to Japan.
In 2020, the Public Safety Bureau despatched the spy, with out revealing his title, to the prosecutor’s workplace on suspicion of violating the Passport Act and different costs.
