Chinese embassy urges Japan to account for intrusion incident after indictment of SDF officer

TOKYO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan has urged the Japanese side to conduct a thorough investigation and provide a responsible explanation to China and the international community after Japanese prosecutors indicted a Self-Defense Forces (SDF) officer over a knife-wielding intrusion into the embassy.

When asked to comment on Japan's announcement of the indictment of Kodai Murata, the spokesperson said on Monday that the case exposed the rampant influence of far-right forces in Japan and underscored the Japanese government's responsibility to address the incident.

The spokesperson said that on March 24, Murata, an active-duty SDF officer, forcibly entered the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo while carrying a knife and issued violent threats against Chinese personnel.

The incident constituted a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, gravely infringed upon China's sovereignty and dignity, and posed severe threats to the personal safety of Chinese diplomatic staff and the security of the embassy's premises, the spokesperson said, adding that the facts of the case are clear and the evidence is conclusive.

According to the spokesperson, the incident exposed the growing influence of far-right ideology and forces in Japan, serious failures in the management and education of SDF personnel, and the negative consequences of the Japanese government's erroneous policies on major core issues concerning China-Japan relations, including history and the Taiwan question.

The spokesperson said these factors have created fertile social ground for "neo-militarism" to take shape and spread.

China strongly urges Japan to fulfill its responsibilities by conducting a thorough investigation as soon as possible, identifying the root causes behind the incident, imposing severe punishment on those involved, preventing similar incidents from recurring, and providing a responsible explanation to China and the international community, the spokesperson said.

Japanese prosecutors on Monday indicted Murata on charges including unlawful trespass and threatening embassy staff over the March incident, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Murata, a 24-year-old second lieutenant with the Ground SDF stationed at Camp Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, allegedly scaled a barbed-wire wall and broke into the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo with an 18-cm blade in March before being arrested by police.