'Startled by "Technology Leakage by Chinese Researchers"... Japan Investigates 370 Universities and Research Institutions'

The Japanese government is launching a fact-finding investigation targeting about 370 domestic universities and government research institutions following an industrial technology leak incident involving a Chinese researcher.

According to major Japanese media on the 4th, the Cabinet Office of Japan will check as early as this month whether each research institution has established a system to prevent the overseas leakage of advanced technology.

They will examine penalty regulations applied when researchers receive opaque funding from foreign sources, whether an appropriate information management system has been established, and if any deficiencies are found, improvements will be requested. The investigation results will be disclosed no later than March next year.

The Japanese government’s move to conduct a fact-finding investigation related to advanced technology security is due to the recent technology leak incident involving a Chinese researcher. Earlier, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted a Chinese researcher on the 5th of last month on charges of leaking industrial technology to China while working at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a Japanese national research institute.

The researcher is accused of sending research materials related to the synthesis technology of fluorine-based compounds via email to a chemical product manufacturing company located in Beijing, China, in April 2018. It is reported that the Chinese company applied for and obtained a patent similar to this technology one week after receiving the email. The indicted researcher had worked at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology since 2002 and is even suspected of concurrently working with Chinese companies and research institutions during this period.

The research institute has currently dismissed this Chinese researcher.

The Chinese government has expressed concerns to Japan regarding this matter. Earlier, on the 28th of last month, the Chinese Embassy in Japan stated, "We have expressed serious concerns to the Japanese side through diplomatic channels," and "We demand that Japan respect laws and facts and guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.