(born 1962 in Kyoto) is a former

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

in the

Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

of Japan. He was found guilty of selling military secrets to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. Hagisaki worked at the National Institute for Defense Studies. He was arrested on September 8, 2000 while meeting a Russian military attaché, Captain Viktor Bogatenkov, at a

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

restaurant. Hagisaki then confessed to passing secret information to Bogatenkov. Bogatenkov himself cited

diplomatic immunity Diplomatic immunity is a principle of international law by which certain foreign government officials are recognized as having legal immunity from the jurisdiction of another country.

, and left the country shortly afterwards. According to Japanese officials, Hagisaki met with Bogatenkov or other Russian agents on at least ten occasions, and gave them information on defence plans, communications, and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

military activities in Japan. The arrest came shortly after a visit to Japan by Russian leader

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, during which politicians of both Russia and Japan had talked of warm relations between the two countries — as such, the revelations caused considerable public outcry. When asked why he had assisted Bogatenkov, Hagisaki said that Bogatenkov had implied that he could assist with treatment for Hagisaki's ill son. Hagisaki also said that Bogatenkov had promised assistance obtaining historic information on the Soviet Navy which Hagisaki needed for a research project, and had been understanding of Hagisaki's strong religious views. Hagisaki entered a guilty plea on November 27, 2000. The following year, he was given a 10-month prison sentence. He had already received a

dishonorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

in October.

External links

BBC reportKyodo report
Living people Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel People convicted of spying for the Russian Federation 1962 births {{Japan-mil-bio-stub