# Russian spies use Japan as base, report says — retained record

> Retained news record from news:semafor.

Canonical: https://highsignal.app/data/records/9ac694f20e8e228c

[← sources](https://highsignal.app/data)


source: [news](https://highsignal.app/data/news) (news:semafor)  published 2026-07-12 22:23 ingested 2026-07-13 08:56

[original source ↗](https://www.semafor.com/article/07/12/2026/russian-spies-use-japan-as-base)

## retained text



```
Russian spies who descended on Japan in recent years are now central to smuggling battlefield technology to Moscow — apparently right under the nose of the authorities in Tokyo, The New York Times reported.
The operatives were expelled from Western nations after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine; now, in Japan, a secretive intelligence unit poses as diplomats and businesspeople, The Times wrote in a sweeping investigation that also exposed the man leading the operation in Tokyo.
Japan has been a “spy paradise” for decades given its lax espionage laws.
Ukraine has raised the issue with Japanese officials — the spies help ship sensitive Japanese technology that Moscow uses against Ukraine — but Tokyo has reportedly been slow to act.
```



document fetched 2026-07-13 08:56 · canonical https://semafor.com/article/07/12/2026/russian-spies-use-japan-as-base