Japan urged to explain embassy break-in

Beijing has urged Tokyo to "immediately conduct a thorough investigation into the incident" after a Japanese Self-Defense Forces officer broke into the Chinese embassy in Japan on Tuesday.

Information verified and released by Japan's police shows that the officer is currently serving as a third lieutenant in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in Beijing on Wednesday.

The officer "climbed over a wall to enter the Chinese embassy in Japan carrying a knife measuring 18 centimeters in length", Lin added. China "has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side in both Beijing and Tokyo, and expressed strong dissatisfaction", he said.

"The Chinese embassy in Japan is coordinating with Japan's police on follow-up measures, and the perpetrator has been handed over to Japan's police," he said.

China urges Japan to "rigorously punish the perpetrator, and provide China with a responsible explanation", he added.

Some Japanese media reported that the officer was seeking a conversation with Wu Jianghao, the Chinese ambassador to Japan.

In rebuking the claim, Lin asked, "Have you ever seen a case in which someone entered an embassy armed with a knife without permission to have a conversation with the ambassador?" "Also, it is an undeniable fact that this person threatened to kill Chinese diplomats in the name of 'the divine'," Lin added.

In another development, Tokyo angered Beijing and Seoul over historical issues after Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on Tuesday reviewed high school textbooks to be used starting next year.

Some textbooks claimed that there is no such case as Japan's forcing females into "comfort women" or forced labor before the end of World War II, and the books continued to claim that China's Diaoyu Islands are Japan's "inherent territory".

Lin said Beijing urges Tokyo to face up to and reflect on its history of aggression, "let the younger generation of Japan get to know the reality of history, handle historical issues in a responsible manner, and avoid losing more trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community".