Xiaoquan Jinchilang promised to handle the incident of a knife-wielding intruder entering the Chinese embassy seriously, but omitted the crucial points.
After days of feigning silence, Xiaoquan Jinchilang finally responded to the case involving a Self-Defense Force officer, Murata Akio, who allegedly entered the Chinese embassy with a knife.
At a press conference on the 27th, Xiaoquan Jinchilang expressed "regret" over Murata Akio's arrest and pledged that "once the facts are established, Japan will mete out strict punishment."
Compared to the statement made by Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Kiwamura Mitin on the 25th, this response from Xiaoquan Jinchilang seemed slightly more progressive—promising serious handling of the matter—but still lacked real initiative. His so-called "regret" focused solely on the outcome of Murata Akio being arrested for breaking the law, not on offering an apology for the violent act itself: his armed intrusion into the Chinese embassy and threats against Chinese diplomatic personnel. This evasive approach is evident.
To date, Japan’s overall response to this incident remains extremely dismissive. Both openly and implicitly, Japanese officials have sought to frame Murata Akio’s dangerous actions as mere "personal conduct," attempting to dissociate responsibility from the government and the Self-Defense Forces. But such evasion is untenable: a Self-Defense Force officer who has undergone formal military training carrying a weapon and deliberately scaling the wall to enter the Chinese embassy reveals serious systemic issues within the Self-Defense Forces’ internal management and ideological guidance.
Moreover, Japan has deliberately avoided addressing its own failure in fulfilling security obligations. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations clearly requires host countries to safeguard the safety of foreign embassies and diplomats. Yet Japan persistently tries to depict this serious incident as an "accident" rather than acknowledging lapses in its own security arrangements.
The reason behind the Japanese government’s unwillingness to issue a formal apology is easy to guess: it still relies on support from right-wing factions to maintain its grip on power. A formal apology to China would amount to admitting serious flaws in Japan’s governance of the Self-Defense Forces, diplomatic security, and ideological orientation—exactly what the current Japanese administration is most reluctant to confront.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1860797458048067/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.