BEIJING/TOKYO, March 25 (Reuters) – China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday demanded that Japan conduct an investigation into and severely punish an officer from the Self-Defense Forces who was arrested on suspicion of breaking into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo.
The suspect, identified by Tokyo’s Metropolitan Police Department as 23-year-old Kodai Murata, allegedly scaled the embassy wall carrying an 18cm (7-inch) knife.
Minoru Kihara, Japan’s top government spokesperson, called the incident “regrettable” and said the government would take measures to prevent it from happening again.
“I understand that the police are continuing their investigation to clarify the incident and have already taken necessary security measures, such as increasing the number of police officers assigned to guard the Chinese embassy in Tokyo,” Kihara said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, speaking at a regular press briefing in Beijing, said the incident had “seriously threatened the safety of embassy personnel and damaged its dignity.”
He blamed far-right ideologies and neo-militarism within Japan for the intrusion, which he said exposed “deep-rooted harmful effects of the Japanese government’s erroneous policies on major core issues concerning China-Japan relations.”
“We once again urge the Japanese side to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident immediately, severely punish the perpetrator and provide the Chinese side with a responsible explanation,” Lin said.
The incident came after months of heightened tensions between Beijing and Tokyo since November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on the democratically governed island of Taiwan could be deemed an existential threat to Japan. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, a claim that Taipei rejects.
In response, Beijing has escalated a pressure campaign on Tokyo, including reimposing restrictions on Japanese seafood imports, advising its citizens against travelling to Japan and banning exports of dual-use items linked to military applications.
(Reporting by Joe Cash and Ethan Wang in Beijing, Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Thomas Derpinghaus)
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