Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe

"As a result of our investigation, we found that the direct cause of the suicide was an extraordinary threat, intimidation and similar actions by Chinese intelligence officers," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.

Abe said Tokyo reached the conclusion after investigating the May 6, 2004, suicide of the 46-year-old head of the Shanghai mission's encrypted communications section, which handled classified communications with the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.

His comments came after the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that it had obtained a suicide letter written by the man, who was believed blackmailed into providing secrets over an affair he was having with a woman Chinese intelligence agents pressured into participating.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 8, 2006
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