China lodges protests against Japan's slow handling of embassy knife intrusion incident: FM on extension of detention of SDF suspect

Nearly three months have passed since Kodai Murata, a sitting officer of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF), illegally broke into the Chinese Embassy in Japan armed with a knife. The Japanese side's investigation and handling of the case have been proceeding slowly, while vicious incidents threatening the security of Chinese diplomatic missions in Japan continue to occur. China deplores this and has lodged protests against the Japanese side on many occasions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday. 

Lin made the remarks in response to an inquiry from the Global Times, which said that regarding the case in which Kodai Murata, a sitting officer of Japan's Self-Defense Forces, illegally entered the Chinese embassy in Japan with a knife, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has decided to prolong his detention period for psychiatric assessment to determine whether he is criminally responsible for his actions.

Lin stated that the incident again reveals multiple deep-seated issues in Japan: the worsening right-wing impact and the suppression of objective and rational voices, the toxicity of the Japanese government's erroneous policies on vital issues concerning China-Japan relations such as history and Taiwan, the serious lack of education on true history, the pervasive erroneous historical views, the ongoing push for a more offensive and expansionist defense policy and failure in supervising the SDF and maintaining discipline inside the forces. 

"We notice that, for some time, many people with insight in Japan have asked the Japanese government to make an apology to China. Some have urged the government to reflect on itself and take corrective actions concerning the supervision of SDF, the education on history, and Japan's policy towards China so as to fundamentally address the issue and remove its breeding ground in the Japanese society," Lin said.

"We once again urge the Japanese side to do serious soul-searching, correct its wrongdoings, conduct a thorough probe and take full responsibility for the incident," the spokesperson said.