Allegedly Related To Fraud Involving The Military, Japan Issues Arrest Letter For Former Chinese Student

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Office, Japan. (Wikimedia Commons/っ)

JAKARTA - Tokyo police have obtained an arrest warrant for a former Chinese student in Japan on suspicion of trying to illegally purchase Japanese security software on orders from the Chinese military, investigative sources said Tuesday.

However, the 36-year-old man, identified as Wang Jianbin, has left Japan, the source said, citing Kyodo News Dec. 28. Japanese police plan to add him to Interpol's international wanted list.

The man allegedly used a fictitious Japanese company to try to buy the software, in a transaction that was limited to a Japanese company.

The incident occurred in November 2016, after he received instructions from the wife of a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) member, and was linked to a suspected cyber attack case involving the PLA.

However, his purchase attempt was rejected by the seller as the identity of the fake Japanese entity was not confirmed.

The public security bureau of the Metropolitan Police Department believes the Chinese military is trying to get hold of the software so it can identify flaws in it, in preparation for another cyberattack.

In 2016 and 2017, around 200 companies and research institutes including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency were hit by large-scale cyberattacks believed to have been carried out by Chinese espionage groups under the direction of the PLA.

To note, police referred a Chinese engineer to prosecutors on suspicion of signing a contract under a false name to rent the server used for the attack in April this year.

However, Tokyo prosecutors decided not to indict the man, a member of the Chinese Communist Party in his 30s, in October, without specifying a reason.