April 14, 2026

Japanese police on Tuesday rearrested Kodai Murata, second lieutenant in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (SDF), who is suspected of violating Japan's Firearms and Swords Control Law by forcibly breaking into the Chinese Embassy in Japan on March 24, according to Japanese media reports. Previously, he had been arrested on suspicion of trespassing at the Chinese Embassy in Japan. 

On March 24, Murata climbed over a wall and forcibly entered the Chinese Embassy in Japan while carrying a knife. The incident was shocking and extremely serious in nature and impact. Japanese police had previously arrested him on suspicion of unlawful entry into a building, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

According to NHK, the incident highlights the security challenges faced by embassies located in central urban areas densely packed with office buildings and apartment complexes. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has decided to use the case as an opportunity to strengthen its security system and will once again urge building managers to implement preventive measures, Japan's police rearresting the SDF officer, who intruded into the Chinese embassy under the Firearms and Swords Control Law, appears on the surface to be a procedural law enforcement action, but in essence it still reflects an attempt to downplay the nature of the incident by treating it as an ordinary public security offense, Xiang Haoyu, a distinguished research fellow at the Department for Asia-Pacific Studies of the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.  

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202604/1358870.shtml