China detains employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma

BEIJING (Bloomberg): A Japanese employee of Astellas PharmaInc in China has been detained by local authorities, the drugmaker said.

Details of the employee’s detention are still unknown and the company is working with Japan’s foreign ministry to gather more information, a spokesman for Astellas said.

Before the latest case, at least 16 Japanese nationals have been detained in China since 2015 for alleged espionage activities, according to Kyodo News. In 2020, a Japanese man was released from detention in China after completing a five-year prison sentence.

NHK and other Japanese media reported over the weekend that the Astellas employee was in his 50s. He was detained in March for violating local law, according to the reports.