A new law in Japan aims to prevent espionage and acts of sabotage by controlling properties around areas important to national security.

Japanese officials have identified 58 spots throughout the country, including Japanese and US military facilities, nuclear power plants and other critical infrastructure, as well as outlying islands, as important enough to be granted special protection.

They are covered by the legislature that went into effect this month. But more locations are likely to be added in the coming years and the number of restricted sites could reach 600.

Lawmakers endorsed the legislation in the summer of 2021 amid concern foreigners or front companies operated by hostile governments could purchase property that could be used to disrupt operations of the US or Japanese military. 

No more "free- for-all"

The 58 listed areas include facilities in Japan's far north, near Russia and North Korea, as well as sites in the south facing China, in addition to the command-and-control headquarters in Tokyo.

"Up until now, it has been pretty much a free-for-all around sensitive sites across the country and it has not been hard for foreign people or companies to simply buy land or property alongside a military base, for example," said Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, an assistant professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Tokyo.

"There are three primary concerns on the Japanese side: espionage, information warfare to influence local communities near those sites and small-scale attacks for disruption or sabotage," he told DW.  

The law does not identify people of a specific nationality as a cause for concern, but it is widely accepted that the authorities will be keeping a particularly close watch on Russians who purchase land in the north as well as Chinese and members of Japan's large ethnically North Korean community.

In parts of the country, such as Tsushima, a Japanese island half-way between Japan and South Korea, attention will also be paid to South Koreans who want to obtain land as there are some who insist that the island is rightfully part of Korea. 

"The biggest concerns will very much be China and Russia," said Hinata-Yamaguchi.

Scores of properties bought by China-linked buyers

A report commissioned by the Japanese government in 2020 found that individuals or organizations linked to Chinese capital had obtained 80 properties close to sensitive installations across Japan.  

Those purchases include 8 hectares (nearly 20 acres) of land just 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the Air Self-Defense Force's Chitose Air Base in Hokkaido. The plot is owned by a Chinese company.

Similarly, the town government of Taketomi, a small island in the far south of Okinawa prefecture near Taiwan, stepped in to purchase a 2.4 hectare plot of land just before a Chinese buyer could complete the deal.  

Other deals have gone through for land near the Japanese radar facility at Cape Nosappu, which is critical for monitoring the activities of Russian aircraft and warships operating in the northern Pacific, and a US military facility in Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo.  

Experts warn that foreign agents could attempt to listen in on military communications, while it has also been suggested that lasers could be trained on military aircraft from foreign-owned buildings.  

Japan's move similar to the US

Japan's move echoes concern in the US, where questions are being asked over the installation of Chinese-made telecommunications equipment close to sensitive US military installations.

An FBI investigation has determined that equipment manufactured by Chinese tech giant Huawei has been installed atop cellphone towers in a number of locations in the Midwest and is reportedly capable of capturing and disrupting highly classified defense communications.  

The data includes communications used by US Strategic Command, which operates the nation's nuclear deterrent.  

Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, says it is likely that the US first alerted Japan to the scale of the problem. 

"I just don't think Japanese decision-makers were really aware of the potential threat this poses to national security and it was not until it was pointed out by Washington that Tokyo began to take it seriously," she said. 

"But with the rising power of authoritarian regimes in northeast Asia, I do believe there is a recognition of the need to make sure that military facilities and infrastructure are secure," she added. 

"Not far enough"

Others, however, say the legislation needs to be expanded.

"I welcome the plan overall, but it has some serious loopholes," said Yoichi Shimada, a professor of international relations at Fukui Prefectural University.

"The most obvious problem is that the government has so far left many of the small islands off southern Okinawa off the list," Shimada added.

"I believe this is because the government does not want to antagonize China, which is a mistake as those territories are clearly Japanese," the professor said.

"Many of those outlying islands have military and early warning facilities, so they are clearly important to national security. We cannot allow other nations with a hostile intent to dictate our policy in this area."

"I very much hope that the government includes these islands under the law in the near future," Shimada said. 

Edited by: Darko Janjevic