TOKYO –
A former Ground Self-Defense Force officer accused of coming into the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo with a kitchen knife and threatening diplomatic employees admitted to trespassing and violating Japan’s weapons legal guidelines at his first court docket listening to on October 1, however disputed whether or not his statements constituted legal threats.
Kodai Murata, 24, a former second lieutenant stationed on the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Camp Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture, appeared earlier than the Tokyo District Court over an incident on March 24, 2026, that triggered a diplomatic protest from Beijing and raised questions on safety at overseas diplomatic missions in Japan.
Murata acknowledged coming into the embassy compound with out permission and carrying a knife in violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Law. However, he advised the court docket that he would go away the authorized judgment regarding the threatening statements to his legal professionals.
His protection workforce argued that the cost of intimidation shouldn’t be upheld, sustaining that Murata had not supposed to personally hurt embassy employees.
According to the indictment, Murata entered the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on March 24 whereas carrying a kitchen knife with a blade roughly 18 centimeters lengthy. He subsequently approached embassy workers and offered a written assertion containing language that prosecutors allege amounted to a risk.
The assertion included the phrases, “Japanese patriots will execute you on behalf of the Japanese gods.”
Prosecutors allege that Murata handed the doc to embassy personnel and skim its contents aloud, constituting legal intimidation beneath Japanese legislation.
At the October 1 listening to, Murata didn’t dispute the wording of the assertion however maintained that figuring out whether or not it legally constituted a risk was a matter for his protection legal professionals.
The case facilities on an uncommon safety breach by which a serving Japanese army officer traveled tons of of kilometers from his assigned base to Tokyo, bought a knife and entered one of many nation’s most politically delicate diplomatic amenities.
Investigators established that Murata had been assigned to Camp Ebino in Ebino City, Miyazaki Prefecture, shortly earlier than the incident.
On March 23, the day earlier than the intrusion, he left Miyazaki and traveled by categorical bus to the Hakata space of Fukuoka, the place he transferred to a Shinkansen certain for Tokyo.
He arrived within the capital late that evening and visited a retail retailer within the Ginza district, the place he bought a kitchen knife.
Murata subsequently spent the evening at an web cafe earlier than heading to the Chinese Embassy the next morning.
Investigators stated he had taken go away on March 23 however didn’t report for responsibility as required on March 24.
At roughly 8:55 a.m. on March 24, Murata approached the embassy compound and entered its grounds by climbing over a safety barrier from an adjoining constructing.
Police investigations discovered that he had crossed a fence designed to stop unauthorized entry earlier than making his method into the embassy’s landscaped grounds.
After coming into the compound, Murata reportedly hid himself amongst bushes for roughly quarter-hour.
He then left the knife within the vegetation and approached an embassy worker, requesting a gathering with the Chinese ambassador.
Investigators stated Murata had intentionally put the knife apart as a result of he believed carrying it brazenly would make embassy employees suspicious and stop him from assembly the ambassador.
Embassy personnel detained him on the scene, and police subsequently recovered the knife from the bushes primarily based on info he offered.
No embassy workers had been injured in the course of the incident.
Following his arrest, Murata reportedly advised investigators that he had wished to talk on to the Chinese ambassador about what he thought to be China’s more and more confrontational diplomatic place towards Japan.
He stated he supposed to demand that the ambassador chorus from making sturdy statements towards Japan.
According to investigative accounts launched after his arrest, Murata initially defined that he had introduced the knife as a result of he supposed to kill himself in entrance of the ambassador if his calls for had been rejected.
He maintained that he had not supposed to injure embassy personnel.
Those explanations grew to become a central problem within the subsequent investigation, notably after authorities examined the written assertion he had delivered and the language directed towards Chinese diplomatic employees.
During questioning on the October 1 listening to, Murata gave an additional account of what had motivated his actions.
He advised the court docket that earlier than the incident, he had skilled a dream by which a determine resembling a Japanese deity instructed him to confront China.
According to his testimony, the determine advised him that China was wanting down on Japan and urged him to go and negotiate immediately with Chinese officers.
Murata stated he had determined to behave on the message from the dream.
Prosecutors advised the court docket that Murata had fashioned a dedication to fulfill the ambassador and categorical his objections to China’s diplomatic insurance policies.
The clarification adopted earlier statements by which Murata had expressed dissatisfaction with what he thought of China’s hard-line method towards Japan.
During an August court docket continuing regarding the grounds for his continued detention, Murata stated he believed China’s forceful diplomatic stance was unjustified and wanted to alter.
He additionally expressed remorse over the results of his actions, saying he had triggered appreciable bother for his household and colleagues.
The March intrusion prompted a right away police investigation and appreciable concern inside Japan’s Defense Ministry.
On March 29, investigators from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department searched Camp Ebino and different areas related to Murata.
Police autos entered the army set up in Miyazaki Prefecture as investigators sought details about his background, actions and preparations for the embassy intrusion.
The investigation targeted on how a serving officer had traveled to Tokyo, obtained a knife and gained entry to a protected diplomatic facility.
Murata was initially arrested on suspicion of illegal entry into the embassy compound.
On April 14, police served an additional arrest warrant alleging a violation of the Firearms and Swords Control Law in connection along with his possession of the kitchen knife.
Investigators established that the knife had been carried onto the embassy premises earlier than being hid within the bushes.
The case subsequently underwent additional examination, together with a psychiatric evaluation performed throughout a interval of detention to find out Murata’s legal duty.
Following that evaluation, prosecutors concluded that he could possibly be held criminally liable for his actions.
Murata was formally indicted in July on costs of illegal entry, violating weapons rules and threatening embassy personnel.
The incident additionally resulted in disciplinary proceedings inside the Ground Self-Defense Force.
On August 28, the GSDF introduced that Murata had been dismissed from service as a disciplinary measure.
The army described his actions as extraordinarily severe as a result of that they had focused a diplomatically vital facility and considerably undermined public confidence within the Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces.
It stated the incident had triggered substantial social repercussions and pledged to strengthen personnel steerage and guarantee stricter compliance with legal guidelines and repair rules.
Murata responded to the disciplinary motion by apologizing for the difficulties he had triggered his colleagues.
The Defense Ministry had beforehand acknowledged that it had acquired no experiences indicating vital issues with Murata’s conduct or angle towards his duties earlier than the incident.
He had handed the overall officer candidate choice course of in fiscal 2024 and subsequently undergone officer coaching.
Defense officers characterised the embassy intrusion as a person act reasonably than an operation linked to his army duties.
The diplomatic penalties started virtually instantly after the breach.
China’s Foreign Ministry publicly condemned the intrusion on March 24, saying a serving member of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces had illegally entered its embassy and threatened Chinese diplomatic personnel.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian described the incident as a severe violation of diplomatic safety and demanded that Japan examine the circumstances, maintain these accountable accountable and stop comparable incidents.
Beijing lodged formal protests with Japanese authorities by means of diplomatic channels in each capitals.
China argued that the intrusion raised issues about Japan’s obligations beneath the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which requires host international locations to guard diplomatic missions towards intrusion, harm and disturbances to their safety and dignity.
Chinese officers additionally referred to as for stronger safety of diplomatic and consular personnel and amenities all through Japan.
The Japanese authorities acknowledged the seriousness of the incident.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara described the intrusion as deeply regrettable on March 25 and stated the federal government would take applicable measures primarily based on the findings of the police investigation.
Japanese authorities elevated the police presence across the Chinese Embassy following the safety breach.
The National Police Agency additionally convened an emergency assembly of safety officers on March 30 because the incident drew consideration to protecting preparations at overseas diplomatic amenities.
The intrusion occurred throughout a interval of notably strained relations between Tokyo and Beijing.
The two governments had been engaged in disagreements over safety in East Asia, Japan’s coverage towards Taiwan and the broader route of bilateral diplomatic relations.
Tensions had intensified after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made feedback in 2025 regarding the circumstances beneath which a Chinese army operation towards Taiwan might represent a safety disaster for Japan.
Beijing strongly opposed these feedback and demanded their withdrawal, whereas Tokyo maintained its place on Japan’s safety obligations.
The dispute contributed to wider friction involving financial relations, commerce restrictions and exchanges between the 2 international locations.
Chinese authorities linked the embassy intrusion to what they described as rising nationalist and militaristic tendencies in Japan, though these characterizations represented Beijing’s interpretation of the incident reasonably than findings established by Japanese investigators.
In April, the Chinese Embassy additional questioned whether or not failures in personnel supervision inside the Self-Defense Forces had contributed to the case.
Embassy officers referred to as on Japanese authorities to analyze the circumstances surrounding Murata’s absence from his army base and decide whether or not another people or organizations had been concerned.
The publicly reported legal case, nevertheless, centered on Murata’s particular person actions.
Following his indictment in July, the Chinese Embassy issued one other assertion condemning the intrusion, describing it as a severe violation of China’s sovereignty and dignity and a significant risk to the protection of diplomatic personnel and amenities.
The embassy reiterated its demand that Japan make sure the safety of Chinese diplomatic missions.
The October 1 proceedings marked the start of the judicial examination of the three legal costs arising from the incident.
With Murata admitting the illegal entry and weapons violation, the principal dispute issues the authorized significance of the phrases he directed towards embassy personnel.
Prosecutors argue that the written assertion and its supply amounted to a legal risk, whereas the protection maintains that the offense of intimidation was not established.
The court docket will contemplate the circumstances by which the doc was ready and offered, Murata’s acknowledged intentions and the that means of his phrases in figuring out whether or not the weather of the intimidation cost have been confirmed.
The trial is constant, with no verdict introduced on the opening listening to.
Source: テレ東BIZ