Sino-Japanese relations continued to deteriorate in recent months as both nations wrangled over ownership of a series of islands near Taiwan and UNESCO's recent immortalization of the Nanjing massacre. Now, reports indicate that up to four Japanese citizens are being detained in China on spying allegations.

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Last month, China's foreign ministry confirmed that two Japanese nationals had been arrested in the country. They have reportedly been in custody since May. The men, who were arrested in Zhejiang and Liaoning province respectively, are accused of espionage. However, they are yet to be formally charged.

On Sunday, reports surfaced that another Japanese citizen - a woman in her 50s - has been arrested in Shanghai on suspicion of spying. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, has reportedly been detained since June when she by arrested by national security officials in Shanghai.

The woman in question is reportedly of Chinese ancestry, but has Japanese citizenship. She currently lives in Japan. However, she has allegedly made frequent trips to China recently. The reasons for her visits is not clear since she works in Tokyo in a Japanese language school

There has been no official report of why this woman was arrested and the possible charges she faces.

Beijing has intensified its fight against spies after the enactment of a new counter-espionage law in November last year. According to Chinese law, espionage can be punished by the death penalty.

There are allegations that Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency has been sending spies - especially those disguised as business executives - into China to gather information.

Although Tokyo has denied the allegations, military journalist Buntaro Kuroi disagrees, he claims Japanese intelligence officials have been courting businessmen.

"As part of their measures to gather information, Public Security Intelligence Agency officials have been courting (Japanese) businessmen who often travel to other countries," he claims. "In the course of the relationship, some may ask (the businessmen) to visit a facility if they can."

In a separate case, a man in his 60s - said to be a Japanese national from Hokkaido - is currently being detained in Beijing on suspicion of espionage. The man was reportedly arrested in June. However, Chinese officials have not made any statements regarding his case.

On Friday, Tokyo stressed its position on the matter of sending spies to gather information in other countries. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga reiterated that Japan has not sent any of it civilians overseas to spy on other countries.

TagsSino-Japanese Relations, Japanese Citizens Arrested in China for Spying, Japanese Citizens Espionage China, Buntaro Kuroi, Yoshihide Suga Japanese spies China