China is denying spying allegations against one of its diplomats in Japan. In mid-May, the Chinese Embassy in Japan rejected a Japanese police request to question the diplomat, and the diplomat has returned to China. The Foreign Ministry said the suspicions of espionage are groundless.

Liu Weimin, Spokesman, Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, "The diplomat you are referring to is named Li Chunguang. He is an expert who worked for the official Chinese Academy of Social Sciences before being assigned to China's embassy in Japan. Now he has left Japan. We think it is groundless to call Li a spy. We will discuss with him the police request and his financial activities in Japan."