TOKYO, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The Embassy of China in Japan has again urged the Japanese side to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the March 24 incident, in which a Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) officer forcibly entered the embassy premises, and to provide a responsible explanation to China.
At a recent press conference, the Chinese embassy said the facts are clear and the evidence conclusive when referring to the incident in which GSDF second lieutenant Kodai Murata scaled a barbed-wire wall and broke into the embassy compound with a 31-cm knife, threatening to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel.
According to the embassy, before handing Murata over to the police, the embassy took necessary measures to ensure the safety of the premises and personnel, and later allowed Japanese police to enter the embassy in accordance with required procedures to jointly handle the case.
Noting that Murata underwent some nine months of training after joining the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), the embassy raised questions: What ideology was he exposed to during that period, and what kind of education did he receive? Was Murata's unit truly unaware that he had gone absent without leave and traveled all the way to Tokyo to carry out the attack? Was this a case of negligence or willful tolerance within the SDF?
The embassy urged the Japanese side to answer these questions and conduct a thorough investigation into the ideological roots and motives behind the incident, as well as whether any forces were involved behind the scenes, in order to prevent such incidents from ever happening again.
Although Japan has expressed regret to China over the forcible intrusion, the embassy said this is far from sufficient.
The embassy also noted that Chinese diplomatic missions in Japan have been frequently harassed, threatened, and intimidated since the beginning of this year, yet no one has been punished for such unlawful conduct, which effectively amounts to tacit endorsement of such behavior.
Worse still, some right-wing figures have even applauded these terror threats. Such an unhealthy social environment will inevitably encourage further similar incidents, the embassy warned.
It is also highly unusual that those involved in the series of threats either have, or claim to have, an SDF background. Whether there is any organized structure behind these cases, or whether any forces have orchestrated and directed these acts, should be thoroughly investigated, the embassy said. ■
