Foreign Ministry sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that the reforms were drawn up in the wake of the May 4, 2004, suicide of an official of the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai. In his suicide note, the unnamed office said that he was pressured by a Chinese intelligence officer to divulge classified diplomatic information.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on June 11 that the Foreign Ministry decided to strengthen protective measures for the country's diplomatic corps as the ministry's current counter-espionage measures have been criticized since the Shanghai affair as being too lax, while the government has been harshly criticized over its handling of the affair.

Under the new regulations, all Foreign Ministry diplomats are immediately to report to their superiors through two or more channels if suspected foreign agents approach them.

The new measures also clearly state that subsequent personnel decisions regarding potentially compromised diplomats will take into consideration their forthrightness in reporting such approaches to superiors, even if secrets have been leaked.

In another reform, the Foreign Ministry also has increased by 300 percent officials undergoing counter-espionage training. The Foreign Ministry will also strengthen its anti-wiretapping countermeasures in its overseas offices.

The Foreign Ministry has already notified top officials in the Tokyo bureau and at overseas posts of the new measures designed to cope with anti-espionage efforts in the fields of systems and hardware.

A Foreign Ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity said, "Especially in relation to the incident in Shanghai, the ministry will strengthen organizational actions against intelligence activities targeting diplomats."

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