By Yu Yichun and Yue Linwei
On the morning of March 24, an individual claiming to be an active-duty member of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) scaled the wall and forcibly intruded into the Embassy of China in Japan, carrying an 18-centimeter knife, and threatened to kill Chinese diplomats "in the name of god".
According to Japanese media reports, the intruder, identified as Kodai Murata, 23 years old, is a second lieutenant in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) stationed in Miyazaki Prefecture. An active-duty member of the JSDF is regarded as equivalent to military personnel by other countries. The special nature of his identity and the extremity of his actions have sharply escalated the nature of the incident. Such an incident is unprecedented since the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations and is exceedingly rare in the history of international diplomacy, especially involving an armed intrusion into a foreign embassy.
Following the incident, China lodged solemn representations and strong protests with Japan, urging the Japanese side to immediately conduct a thorough investigation, bring the perpetrator to justice, and present a responsible response to China.
However, how has the Japanese side responded to the incident?
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said on March 25 that he was "deeply regrettable" to the incident. The JGSDF stated that it will fully cooperate with the police investigation and will handle the matter seriously based on the findings.
It is evident that the Japanese side's response lacks sincerity. It has neither offered even a basic apology, nor provided updates on the latest progress of the investigation, nor made any commitment to prevent similar incidents in the future. This serious diplomatic incident has at least sent out two extremely dangerous signals.
First, Japan's far-right forces are sliding toward a state of losing control, with the shadow of history re-emerging.
An active-duty member of the JSDF, who should have been strictly regulated by law and discipline, was able to commit such an act, which fully demonstrates the extent to which far-right ideology has infiltrated Japanese society. For a long time, Japan's right-wing forces have promoted historical revisionism and hyped up the so-called China Threat, while continuously making provocations on major issues of principle, including the Taiwan Question. In particular, since Sanae Takaichi assumed office, erroneous far-right ideologies have accelerated their corrosive impact on Japanese society, spreading widely among the public and within the JSDF.
On the very same day as the knife-wielding intrusion into the embassy, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology approved high school textbooks to be used from 2027. Some textbooks include descriptions suggesting there was no coercion regarding "comfort women" and forced labor, and assert that Diaoyu Dao is "Japan's inherent territory". Such practices, which challenge historical truth and legal justice, are deeply linked to the occurrence of such extreme incidents. When problems emerge at the ideological level, actions tend to become increasingly unrestrained.
This extreme incident inevitably brings to mind the February 26 Incident in Japan 90 years ago. At that time, more than 1,000 young officers of the Imperial Japanese Army's "Imperial Way Faction" launched a rebellion, carrying out acts of violence under the pretext of "revering the Emperor" and "reform." Following the incident, Japan moved toward full-scale militarism and eventually launched a full-scale invasion of China, bringing profound disasters to China, Asia and even its own people. As the saying goes, history does not repeat itself, but it does often rhyme. When far-right ideologies infiltrate the armed forces and when military personnel disregard the rule of law, the consequences will inevitably be a loss of control at home and provocation abroad. This is precisely why the international community must remain highly vigilant against such incidents involving JSDF personnel, as they reflect the impulse and fanaticism of Japan's emerging neo-militarism.
Second, the JSDF has shown serious failures in management and control, while the Japanese side has gravely neglected its security responsibilities.
According to information released by the Japanese side, Kodai Murata left his post without authorization, yet was neither promptly tracked nor brought under control by his unit, nor did his actions trigger any security alert, exposing major loopholes in the internal management of the JSDF. By carrying a weapon and intruding into a foreign embassy, he further exposed Japan's failure to abide by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and to effectively fulfill its obligation to ensure the security of the Embassy of China and its diplomatic personnel.
At present, Japan's political landscape is accelerating toward right-wing tendencies, and the strategic trajectory of this former aggressor state is becoming increasingly dangerous. Just one day before the incident, the JSDF carried out large-scale organizational restructuring, moving closer to breaking through the constraints implied by the name Self-Defense Forces, and posing a growing threat to regional peace and stability.
China's demands are clear and firm: to immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, severely punish those involved, and provide a responsible explanation to China; and to take effective measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese diplomatic and consular premises and personnel, as well as Chinese nationals residing there.
More importantly, the Japanese side must get rid of the root causes and eliminate the political soil that has given rise to such incidents, and must not persist down the dangerous path of reviving militarism.