Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

China on Monday urged the Japanese side to earnestly fulfill its duty, bring the perpetrator to account, conduct a thorough investigation and correct the wrongdoings 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 to comment on a statement issued by Japan's Self-Defense Forces on August 28, which said that SDF officer Kodai Murata had been dismissed and that it was "extremely regrettable" that one of its members had committed such an act, adding that thorough measures would be taken to ensure personnel strictly follow laws and regulations, and whether the handling of the case has addressed China's concerns, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference on Monday that it is shockingly malignant for a sitting Japanese SDF officer to break into the Chinese embassy carrying a knife and threaten the Chinese side with violence.

This incident seriously violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, gravely threatens the safety and security of Chinese diplomatic personnel and premises, and exposes deep-seated problems in Japan, including the rampant spread of right-wing impact and lack of supervision and discipline in the SDF, Guo said.

"We noted that Japanese public prosecutors have indicted the person concerned," Guo said.

"We urge the Japanese side to earnestly fulfill its duty, bring the perpetrator to account, conduct a thorough investigation and correct the wrongdoings. This is also what the international community hopes to see," 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