Japan yesterday said that it was “regrettable” that a member of its military broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, while Beijing called for the perpetrator to be punished.
The Tuesday morning break-in has further soured relations between Beijing and Tokyo, which nosedived over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan.
Takaichi in November said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be an existential threat to Japan necessitating a military response.
Photo: Reuters
Japanese police arrested 23-year-old Kodai Murata on suspicion of trespassing after he broke into the heavily guarded embassy grounds at about 9am, a police spokesperson said.
The suspect told investigators he was “hoping to meet the ambassador to tell him to refrain from making hardline remarks, and if that request was rejected, I wanted to surprise him by killing myself,” the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing unnamed sources.
Japan’s national broadcaster NHK reported that a knife was later found at the scene.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara confirmed that the suspect was a member of the military.
“It is truly regrettable that a Self-Defense Forces member, who is expected to comply with the law, has been arrested on suspicion” of entering the embassy premises, Kihara told reporters.
“Police are already conducting an investigation to clarify what happened and have implemented necessary measures to strengthen security” of the embassy, he added.
Beijing, which lodged a formal protest against the incident, called for the perpetrator to be severely punished.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday accused Japan of failing in its duties to protect diplomatic staff.
“The incident has seriously threatened the safety of embassy personnel, disrupted the peace and tranquility of the embassy, and undermined the dignity of the embassy,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian (林劍) told a regular news conference.
“The Japanese side has failed ... to uphold its special responsibility to protect the inviolability of the embassy and diplomatic representatives,” he added.
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