Banished Russian spies flee to Japan

Dozens of Russian spies banished from Western capitals after the start of the Ukraine war have turned up in Japan, according to intelligence officials.

Dozens of Russian spies banished from Western capitals after the start of the Ukraine war have turned up in Japan, according to intelligence officials. They were pushed out of the West to make it harder for the Kremlin to collect intelligence and obtain sensitive equipment that could be used to make weapons. However, Japan's weak intelligence services and hi-tech defence industry have become a key part of Russia's war machine, current and former officials at five Western intelligence agencies told the New York Times.

According to the Ukrainian government, 90 per cent of Russian missiles and drones contain Japanese components that are used in daily attacks on Ukraine's cities and troops. The officials argued that Moscow's continued access to technologies developed by the West and available in Japan – despite bans on military-related exports – had allowed it to continue its full-scale war for more than four years. The newspaper reported that a Russian military intelligence unit named the 20th Directorate had been operating out of Tokyo.

The spies, posing as businessmen or diplomats, had been attempting to solicit deals or steal technology to be smuggled back to Russia and used on the battlefield, the outlet was told. The man at the helm of the 20th Directorate had played a crucial role in supplying Russia's war effort, the officials said. He was reported to be operating under the cover of an employee of Aeroflot, Russia's flag carrier.

Since Soviet times, Moscow's military intelligence spies have used the airline as cover. Ukrainian officials were said to have shown Japan evidence that its technology was being used in Russian weapons, citing documents and interviews. Yet Tokyo has allegedly been slow to act.

' Spy paradise' Officials have said they are aware of the threat and are working to improve intelligence gathering. The government added that it was working with Western allies to ban the export of military-related items to Russia.

Japan has long been touted as a "spy paradise". It lacks key intelligence capabilities and is considered vulnerable to foreign espionage. In part, this stems from post-war constraints implemented by the Allies, including disbanding its intelligence-gathering operations.

It still has no foreign intelligence service and has largely been dependent on US intelligence. Reforms are under way. Japan has enacted a law to establish a National Intelligence Council as the command centre and a corresponding National Intelligence Bureau.

Later in 2026, it will also enact an "anti-spy" law to improve counter-espionage efforts. This will improve its ability to trade not just with the US but the UK and other partners. Russian intelligence inside Japan is likely to raise security concerns over Tokyo's joint development of a new sixth-generation stealth fighter alongside the UK and Italy.

The £4.6bn Global Combat Air Programme, announced earlier in July, will be a highly sensitive project. The jets are slated to enter service in 2035.