A Japanese businessman has been sentenced to three and a half years in China for espionage, Japan’s embassy in Beijing has said.

The man, described by Japan’s Kyodo News Agency as an employee of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. in his 60s, was first detained in March 2023 and placed under formal arrest in October.

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“In light of the sentence, we have once again strongly urged the Chinese side for the early release of the Japanese national concerned in this case as well as others detained,” Tokyo’s embassy in Beijing said in a statement on Wednesday.

China should also “ensure their legitimate rights and humane treatment during detention” and “improve the transparency of the judicial process”, the embassy said.

Japanese ambassador Kenji Kanasugi called the verdict “extremely regrettable” in remarks to the media after the trial at Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court.

Tokyo has protested a series of detentions of its citizens in China.

At total of 17 Japanese, including the Astellas Pharma employee, have been detained since 2014, when China introduced a counterespionage law, according to Kyodo.

Among those, five are still in China, according to the news agency.