OSAKA — A 62-year-old man who lives in Kobe claims he spent a quarter century as a North Korean spy.
The man, who goes by the pseudonym "Isao Sakamoto," said his job wasn't glamorous and didn't involve cloak-and-dagger. He merely provided North Korean officials with information publicly available or gleaned through private conversations with Japanese politicians or figures in the mass media.
However, he added that he was proud to be one of a very few Japanese to receive secret-agent training in Pyongyang and to receive medals for his services.