Description
From Cold War agents to cyber warfare, discover why Japan has proved such a paradise for Russian spies-and why it matters today.
Post-war Japan offered Moscow’s spies an extraordinary range of opportunities: US military bases to surveil, a wealth of science and technology to steal, and politicians, officials and businessmen willing to betray their country for a price. With no comprehensive anti-espionage law in Japan, Moscow’s intelligence officers operated with remarkable freedom.
Spy Paradise is the untold story of Moscow’s espionage against Japan, from the Soviet declaration of war in 1945 to Russia’s recruitment of agents in Japanese tech firms in the 2020s. Among its revelations are an attempt to foment socialist revolution by subjecting tens of thousands of Japanese prisoners to ideological indoctrination; a Soviet ‘illegal’ who spent three decades spying on Japan while posing as an ordinary Japanese citizen; and the alleged recruitment of a Japanese cabinet minister and a top executive at one of Japan’s leading trading firms. The book also examines how traditional espionage has evolved into cyber-attacks and disinformation, including suspected efforts to influence Japan’s 2025 election.
But this is more than a history of spies and secrets. It investigates why Japan has proved so vulnerable to foreign intelligence operations—and what it can do to ensure that it is no longer a paradise for Russian agents.
- More than just a history, Spy Paradise exposes how traditional espionage has evolved into cyber-attacks and disinformation
- Relevant to modern day politics as it sheds light on the suspected efforts to influence Japan's 2025 election
- Advises on what Japan can do to ensure it does not remain a paradise for Russian intelligence agents