TOKYO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Tokyo District Court held another court hearing on Tuesday in the case of Kodai Murata, a former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) officer accused of forcibly entering the Chinese Embassy in Japan while carrying a knife earlier this year, local media reported.
According to Kyodo News, prosecutors sought 18 months in prison for Murata, while his defense counsel requested that he be sentenced to a fine. The court is scheduled to hand down its ruling on Dec. 24.
On March 24, Murata, then an active-duty second lieutenant in the GSDF, allegedly scaled a barbed-wire wall and broke into the Chinese Embassy compound in Tokyo with a knife. He threatened to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel and was later arrested by the police. Murata was dismissed from the GSDF in August.
The Tokyo District Court held the first court hearing of his trial on Oct. 1 after prosecutors indicted him in July on charges including unlawful entry and threatening embassy staff. During that hearing, Murata admitted to the charges of trespassing and violating the firearms and swords control law, but his defense team pleaded not guilty to the charge of threatening embassy personnel.
Following the intrusion incident, the Chinese Embassy in Japan has lodged solemn representations and a strong protest with the Japanese side, demanding that Japan provide a responsible explanation.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has also urged the Japanese side to earnestly fulfill its duty to severely punish the perpetrator, conduct a thorough investigation, and correct the wrongdoings.
So far, however, the Japanese side has only expressed that the incident was "regrettable," without offering an apology. ■