China demands Japan act over Tokyo embassy break-in
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- China's foreign ministry declared Japan's "regret" over the March 24 embassy break-in in Tokyo as "far from sufficient," with spokesperson Mr Lin Jian saying on March 27 that Japan has provided no details of the incident.
- Mr Lin urged Japan to "conduct a thorough investigation as soon as possible and provide China with a responsible explanation," framing the response as a test of Japan's seriousness.
- Japan's top government spokesperson Mr Minoru Kihara called the March 24 incident "regrettable" and said the government would take measures to prevent any recurrence.
- Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on March 27 the incident was "truly regrettable" and that the Defence Ministry was "fully cooperating" with the police investigation, pledging a strict response once facts are established.
- Sino-Japanese ties were already deteriorating since November, when Japan's prime minister said Japan could deploy its military if a Chinese move against Taiwan also threatened its territory, and the embassy incident now threatens to further inflame relations.
Why it matters: A Japanese military officer with a knife breached the Chinese embassy in Tokyo — a serious security incident between two of Asia's largest economies. Beijing is publicly escalating pressure on Tokyo, and the source notes relations had already soured since Japan's November remarks on deploying its military against a Taiwan contingency, meaning this break-in lands on already-fragile ground.
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