Japan spurns US spying allegations

TOKYO: Tokyo on Monday described claims that Washington spied on Japanese politicians and major firms as "deeply regrettable", in its first official response to revelations from whistleblower group WikiLeaks.
"I will withhold comment. But If this is true, as an ally, it’s deeply regrettable," the government’s top spokesman Yoshihide Suga told a regular press briefing.
Suga added that Tokyo was checking with the US on the Wikileaks report, issued on Friday.
The latest WikiLeaks intercepts exposing US National Security Agency (NSA) activities follow other documents that revealed spying on allies including Germany and France, straining relations.
Japan is one of Washington’s key allies in the Asia-Pacific region and the two countries regularly consult on defence, economic and trade issues.
"We have strongly requested intelligence director Clapper confirm the facts," Suga said, referring to National Intelligence Director James Clapper.