Chinese Researcher Convicted in Japan for Leaking Tech Secrets to Chinese Firm

Signage in kanji characters for the Tokyo District Court is seen outside the premises in Tokyo on Nov. 30, 2022. Kazuhiro Nogi/ AFP via Getty Images

A Tokyo court has convicted a Chinese researcher for leaking sensitive technology to a Chinese firm, fueling concerns about intellectual property theft.

On Feb. 25, the Tokyo District Court sentenced Quan Hengdao, a former senior researcher at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), to a suspended prison term of two years and six months, Japanese daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported. He was also fined 2 million yen (about $13,300) for breaking Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act.

Although earlier reports suggested a prison sentence, the court suspended it, so Quan will serve time only if he offends again.

AIST is a major Japanese research hub, with about 2,300 researchers, that supports Japan’s industries and innovation efforts.

Quan stole research on fluorine compounds designed to replace sulfur hexafluoride in electrical equipment like transformers. Sulfur hexafluoride is a gas known to trap heat in the atmosphere. These compounds could make the electrical infrastructure more eco-friendly.

Prosecutors showed that Quan emailed this confidential data in April 2018 to a chemical company in Beijing, where his wife is a major shareholder, according to an editorial by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. The court ruled that this gave the foreign company an unfair advantage without proper compensation, undermining fair competition.

China’s Foreign Ministry had voiced concerns over Quan’s initial arrest in June 2023, urging Japan to respect fair competition and scientific cooperation.

Reports, including one by the Japan Forward news website, allege Quan has possible ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army and Thousand Talents Program, a state-sponsored program aimed at recruiting foreign researchers.

During his more than 20 years at AIST, Quan also served as a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology.

A former AIST colleague, who asked not to be named, said Quan traveled to China often while employed at AIST.

“It’s hard to say how much technology he leaked. The government probably knows more but chose to prosecute him for the case involving his wife’s company,” he told The Epoch Times.

“The [Chinese Communist Party] has been infiltrating other countries for a long time, especially in the tech sector, where it lures overseas Chinese researchers with financial incentives.”