Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

China on Monday urged Japan to take its responsibilities, severely punish the perpetrator and conduct a thorough investigation and rectification after Japan dismissed Self-Defense Forces (SDF) officer Kodai Murata, who forcibly broke into the Chinese Embassy in Japan with a knife in March.

Asked at a regular press conference on Monday what is the comment of the Chinese side and whether Japan's handling of the case had addressed China's concerns, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that an active-duty SDF officer broke into the Chinese Embassy in Japan while carrying a knife and issued violent threats against the Chinese side.

Such an egregious incident is unprecedented, Guo said. It gravely violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, posed severe threats to the personal safety of Chinese diplomatic personnel and the security of diplomatic premises, and also exposed multiple deep-rooted problems in Japan, including rampant right-wing forces and failures in the management and education of SDF personnel.

"We have noted that the Japanese side has indicted the individual involved," Guo said.

"We urge the Japanese side to earnestly take its responsibilities, severely punish the perpetrator, and conduct a thorough investigation and rectification. The international community is also watching closely," the spokesperson said.

On March 24, the Ground SDF officer, identified as Kodai Murata, allegedly scaled a barbed-wire wall and broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo with an 18-cm blade, threatening to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel. He was later arrested by the police. Japanese prosecutors indicted Murata on charges including trespassing and threatening embassy staff, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday. 

Global Times