MINSK, September 6. /TASS/. Detained Japanese citizen Masatoshi Nakanishi admitted that his unlawful activities harmed the state security of Belarus during questioning, aired by the Belarus-1 TV channel.
"I presume that my actions harmed the state security of Belarus," he said.
"I made photos not far from the Ukrainian border, showing bridges and railroads. They could be used by the United States or Ukraine for a possible attack. I think they could deliver a missile strike on the territory of Belarus," the detainee added.
He also said that his home country has "very close ties with the United States."
The Belarus-1 television channel reported that in the course of the six years in Belarus, the man made more than 9,000 photographs in the borderline area with Ukraine, showing military infrastructure, bridges and roads.
"I planned to hand over the photos to Japanese special services. I travelled to the border with Ukraine and made a lot of photographs," he said.
The television reported that Nakanishi arrived in Belarus in 2018, entering a fictitious marriage with a Belarusian citizen and later divorcing her. He worked as a teacher of the Japanese language in the Francisk Skorina Gomel State University.
"This was not the right thing to do. I did a bad thing, and I regret doing it," the Japanese citizen added.