A Japanese citizen detained in Belarus on charges of monitoring military areas has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for espionage. The Belarusian Prosecutor’s Office announced that Nakanişi Masatoşi, the Japanese citizen detained last September for allegedly monitoring border areas and military facilities, has been sentenced to 7 years in prison. It is not yet known what defense the captured Japanese citizen made. Prosecutor’s Office Representative Dmitry Brulev, in his statement about the process, said: “The Prosecutor’s Office conducted a state prosecution against a Japanese citizen who engaged in espionage in the Republic of Belarus from 2018 to 2024 at the Minsk City Court. Based on the evidence presented by the state prosecutor, the court found the foreign citizen guilty of actions aimed at deliberately harming Belarus’ national security, collaborating with the special services and intelligence agencies of a foreign state, and sentenced him to 7 years in prison under Article 358.3 of the Penal Code.”