Why is Russia targeting Japanese technology? What the “allegations” involving Aeroflot’s Tokyo branch manager reveal about the reality of Russia’s economy under sanctions...

According to the NYT, the 20th Directorate of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was responsible for procuring dual-use technology in Japan. The effort was reportedly overseen by GRU officer Maksim Filchenkov (マクシム・フィルチェンコフ), who posed as an employee of Aeroflot's Tokyo office. He is said to have built a logistics network in Japan and been involved in procuring materials through third countries. His movements have continued to be monitored since he left Japan.

GRU is an intelligence agency directly under Russia's Ministry of Defence and is said to handle the procurement of strategic weapons-related equipment. Against the backdrop of Western sanctions, advanced technologies such as high-precision machine tools are considered particularly important to acquire. The focus is on how its organizational coordination differs from that of traditional intelligence agencies.

The items Russia is said to have “truly needed from Japan” include advanced processing equipment, particularly precision machine tools. Shortages of such equipment have reportedly become evident following the sanctions and tighter export controls imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. Equipment considered particularly important includes CNC machining centers with 4 or more axes, high-precision lathes, milling machines, drilling machines and plastic molding machines. These are said to be essential for manufacturing missile guidance components, fighter aircraft parts and drone drive systems.

In short, the view presented is that the quality and technological reproducibility of Japanese products themselves have strategic value for Russia. This is positioned as a clue to understanding the reality of the economic warfare Russia faces under sanctions.