Suspect Akihiro Murata is transferred from the Azabu Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to the prosecutor’s workplace in Minato Ward, Tokyo, March 26, 2026. /VCG
Japanese police on Sunday searched the Self-Defense Forces base the place Kodai Murata is stationed, in addition to his residence, after he was arrested for forcibly coming into the Chinese embassy in Japan on Tuesday, in accordance with Kyodo News.
Murata, 23, is a second lieutenant within the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, stationed at Camp Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture.
According to the Chinese embassy, Murata, claiming to be “an active-duty officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces,” forcibly broke into the embassy by climbing over a wall on Tuesday morning, threatening to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel.
Following this forcible intrusion, Japanese public figures have urged the federal government to take the incident extra significantly, transfer past its present stance of expressing mere “regret,” and formally apologize to China whereas conducting an intensive investigation to carry these accountable accountable.
Yujin Fuse, a veteran Japanese navy journalist, mentioned that accountability for the incident lies completely with the Japanese aspect and that Japan ought to acknowledge its fault and apologize to China, warning that refusing to take action might additional worsen the state of affairs.
Seiko Mimaki, a professor at Japan’s Doshisha University, famous that as a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, Japan is obligated to forestall intrusions and injury to international diplomatic missions and will reply actually to its failure to adequately defend the Chinese embassy on this case.
Ignoring this accountability and prioritizing “not giving China grounds for criticism” would in the end injury Japan’s worldwide credibility, she warned.
Yoichi Jomaru, a former journalist with Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, questioned whether or not the Japanese authorities intends to shut the matter by merely calling the incident “deeply regrettable.”
“Logically speaking, at the very least, the defense minister or the foreign minister should come forward to apologize,” he mentioned. “Is the government deliberately allowing relations between the two countries to worsen further?”
The Chinese embassy has lodged solemn representations and a robust protest with the Japanese aspect, demanding that Japan present a accountable rationalization.
So far, the Japanese authorities has solely expressed that the incident was “regrettable,” with out providing an apology or saying particular accountability measures.
Source: CGTN