TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Nikkei has expressed regret over a report suggesting up to 90% of Taiwanese military officials sell their country out to China after retirement.

The Nikkei on Tuesday (March 7) released a statement, saying the opinions expressed in a Feb. 28 article on the “unknown truths of Taiwan” series belong solely to the interviewees and do not reflect the views of the newspaper. The Nikkei regretted any concern it caused and will work to ensure impartiality, according to Taiwan’s foreign ministry.

The disclaimer comes following Taiwan’s protest against what government officials said is disinformation that has undermined the military’s morale. The article claimed 90% of retired Taiwanese military officials provide intelligence to China for profit and that the U.S. has been cautious in its arms sales to Taiwan over fears that intelligence might flow to Beijing.

The defense and foreign ministries have rebutted the claims and demanded clarifications from the Japanese newspaper. Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said on Monday (March 6) the incident has sparked unease in the military and created rifts in society.

In the aftermath of the report, Li Wang (王立楨), a former Lockheed Martin engineer who now resides in Taipei, shared on Facebook on Friday (March 3) that during an MRT ride, a passenger shouted “shame on you” at him, likely because he was wearing a bomber jacket and was mistaken to be retired military personnel.