A Japanese national claiming to be an active-duty soldier broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo and allegedly threatened to kill the diplomats there, Beijing said.
The person scaled the wall and forcibly entered the embassy on Tuesday morning, the Chinese foreign ministry said, adding that it was “deeply shocked” by the incident.
“The individual admitted that his actions were illegal and threatened to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel in the so-called name of God,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.
Beijing later lodged solemn representations with Tokyo and called for a thorough investigation.
The individual’s identity was not disclosed but state broadcaster NHK reported that they were believed to be affiliated with the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force.
A knife was found at the scene, NHK said, but no embassy staff was reported injured. The intruder was handed over to the Tokyo police.
“It seriously violates the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, severely threatens the personal safety of Chinese diplomatic personnel and the security of diplomatic facilities,” the spokesperson said.
“China demands that Japan immediately carry out a thorough investigation, severely punish those responsible and provide a responsible account to the Chinese side.”
The spokesperson said the incident was “extremely egregious in nature” and reflected the alleged rampant rise of far-right thinking and forces in Japan.
It further exposed “the deep-seated pernicious influence of the Japanese government’s erroneous policies on major core issues concerning Sino-Japanese relations, such as history and Taiwan”.
Mr Lin said that Japan must “effectively guarantee” the safety of its mission and diplomats while reflecting and “correcting its policies towards China” and “fundamentally prevent such incidents from occurring again”.
The Japanese defence ministry told Asahi Shimbun that it was “currently confirming the facts”.
The Independent has reached out to the ministry for comment.
The incident comes at a time when diplomatic ties between the Asian neighbours are at a low ebb. Bilateral relations have deteriorated since Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last November that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
In response, Beijing instituted export and travel restrictions and repeatedly demanded a retraction. It reinstated a ban on Japanese seafood imports and export restrictions on “dual-use” technologies as well.
Beijing has since accused Japan of seeking to remilitarise, citing Ms Takaichi’s stance on Taiwan and Tokyo’s increased defence budget.
China considers Taiwan, a self-governed island, a part of its territory and doesn’t rule out the use of force to reunify it with the mainland.
Japan is set to downgrade its description of ties with China from “one of the most important” in an annual diplomatic report, citing a series of confrontations with Beijing over the past year.
