Embassy break-in exposes China-Japan trust at 'historic low'

Japanese police arrested a local military officer on suspicion of trespass after an alleged break-in at China's embassy in Tokyo. (Reuters: Issei Kato) Link copiedShareShare articleOn a Tuesday morning in March, a member of Japan's defence forces allegedly scaled the wall of China's embassy in Tokyo armed with an 18-centimetre blade. According to the embassy, after he allegedly broke in, he threatened to kill a diplomat "in the name of God". Staff restrained him and handed him over to the police in Tokyo, who then arrested him on charges of trespass and illegally possessing a weapon. But in the weeks since the break-in at the embassy, Beijing has raised questions about the Japanese authorities' investigation into the incident, tying it to concerns about what it calls Japan's "remilitarisation". The embassy has said it received a death threat before the break-in from a group purportedly made up of former Japanese police and ex-members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and a separate bomb threat the week after. China was already wary about Japan's new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, a renowned Beijing hawk, before she weighed in on one of its most sensitive issues: Taiwan. "Why have so many incidents of intimidation and threats involving the Self-Defence Forces' insignia occurred?" China's acting ambassador Shi Yong asked at a recent press conference. "Japan must investigate and clarify this as soon as possible." The incident has become a lightning rod in a tension-riddled landscape between China and Japan, with both states at odds since late last year. Stephen Nagy at Tokyo's International Christian University said "bilateral trust" was at an "absolute historic low". There is a risk of things deteriorating further, with Tokyo set to closely watch an upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping this week. The man allegedly behind the break-in, Kodai Murata, was a second lieutenant from a division of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. He claimed that days before the incident, he had received a "divine message" telling him to stop China from using "strong language" against Japan, local news outlet NHK reported, citing investigative sources. Following China's protest and demand for preventive measures, Japan conveyed to China its regret over the case. (Reuters: Issei Kato) The day after receiving this "message", the 23-year-old boarded a train to Tokyo to carry out the mission, police said. "The suspect is accused of carrying a kitchen knife with a blade length of approximately 18cm in a backpack on the premises of the Chinese embassy in Japan," police told the ABC. China's embassy has demanded severe punishment and "concrete measures to ensure the safety of personnel and premises at our embassies and consulates in Japan, as well as that of Chinese citizens in Japan, to prevent such incidents from recurring". Japan's government stopped short of publicly apologising, instead describing the incident as "deeply regrettable". "We intend to continue taking necessary measures to prevent a recurrence, taking into account the findings of the ongoing investigation," said Minoru Kihara, a top spokesperson and chief cabinet secretary. The police presence at the embassy was increased. Professor Nagy said the "skirmish perfectly encapsulates the hyper-nationalism brewing in China", while Japan's refusal to formally apologise showed its resistance to "hand Beijing a propaganda victory". "Beijing weaponises such localised incidents to paint Japan as inherently hostile," he said. "While Tokyo struggles to manage domestic anti-China sentiment without triggering a full-blown diplomatic rupture." Satoshi Tomisaka from Takushoku University thought Japan should apologise, but said the government would perceive it as being "extremely detrimental to their administration". "The government strongly dislikes being perceived as weak-kneed by China, so it's deliberately avoiding addressing this issue." China and Japanese ties have been fraught since late 2025 when newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could trigger a military response from her country. The comments crossed what Beijing refers to as a "red line" — that is, outside interference in issues around China's sovereignty. The departure of the last pandas from Japan demonstrates a significant crisis in North-East Asian politics that has no resolution on the horizon. China has since raised concerns about Japan's growing military and defence exports and put restrictions on shipping and the supply of rare earth minerals to several companies involved in the industry. Its embassy linked the break-in to that issue. "This development once again demonstrates that far-right ideologies and forces are rampant within Japan," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in the days after the break-in. "The dangerous reality of unchecked expansion of the Self-Defence

Embassy break-in exposes China-Japan trust at 'historic low'

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