A researcher from China was arrested in Japan on Thursday for allegedly leaking information on sensitive technology to a Chinese company, police in Tokyo said.

The 59-year-old man, who worked at a Japanese research institute, has been held on suspicion of violating unfair competition laws, a police spokesman told AFP.

In April 2018, the man allegedly "emailed information about technologies linked to synthesising a fluorine compound from an email account he held at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology to a company in China," said the spokesman, who declined to be named.

The United States and its allies, including Japan, have become increasingly wary about the transfer of cutting-edge technology to China.

Last year, Washington imposed restrictions on China's access to high-end chips and chip-making equipment, citing national security concerns.

Washington said it wanted to prevent tech that could help develop advanced military equipment from being acquired by China's armed forces and intelligence services.

It has pressed its allies to do the same, and the Netherlands and Japan recently announced new export restrictions on chipmaking technology, without naming China.

Beijing has sunk billions of dollars into building up its own semiconductor industry over the past decade, and filed a dispute with the World Trade Organization over the US measures.