Japanese citizens call on Takashi to apologize to China for "breaking into the museum"

Our Special Correspondent Yan Ge Strict Our Reporter Deng Xiaoci Lin Zeyu

After personnel from Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force were arrested for entering the Chinese embassy, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Public Security Bureau conducted a search on the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Miyazaki Prefecture garrison on the morning of March 29. Lü Chao, Dean of the Institute of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, told reporters from the Global Times on March 29 that Japan’s investigation into the incident of forcibly entering the embassy is currently still limited to the police level, deliberately avoiding the serious diplomatic damage caused thereby and the conduct that seriously violates international law. This fully exposes the arrogant attitude of Japan’s authorities in covering up the facts and shifting responsibility.

The Chinese side has repeatedly urged Japan to thoroughly investigate the case as soon as possible and provide China with a responsible explanation. Lin Jian, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on March 27 in response to developments in the event that Japan has expressed deep regret to China over the incident, but that is far from enough.

According to Japan’s Kanagawa Shimbun, on March 28 members of the Japanese public held a protest gathering in Shinjuku, Tokyo, opposing moves by Prime Minister Hayashi’s cabinet, including efforts to amend the constitution. Based on现场 videos circulated on social media, protesters also shouted slogans such as “The Japanese government should apologize for the terrorist attack by Self-Defense Force personnel! Apologize, Kaichi! Apologize, Koizumi! China, you’re sorry!”—calling on Hayashi’s cabinet to apologize for the incident in which Japan’s Self-Defense Force personnel forcibly entered the Chinese embassy.

It was reported that this protest gathering was themed “anti-war.” The organizers said that about 1,400 people participated in the gathering offline. A Japanese netizen posted on the social platform X a video snippet calling on the Japanese government to apologize and commented that they hope overseas people understand that Japanese citizens also have a sense of crisis, and that such appeals are naturally emerging now. While it is true that “Kaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the election,” the claim that “politics promoted by Kaichi’s cabinet = public opinion” is completely not true.

In fact, Japan’s mainstream media have noticed that China is dissatisfied with Japan’s attempts to downplay the matter, but they rarely report messages from the public calling on the government to apologize. The Asahi Shimbun reported on the 28th that within Japan’s government there is generally no desire to magnify this issue. A senior Japanese government official believed that the matter “will not develop into a major incident.” The report also mentioned that within Japan’s Ministry of Defense, some people are worried that “this could become a political bargaining chip for China.” On the 29th, Liu Jiangyong, a professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University, told Global Times reporters that Japan’s mainstream media are actively cooperating with the authorities under Hayashi Sanae. They are trying to make a big issue small, handle it in a toned-down way, confuse right and wrong, and mislead the public.

As there has been no reflection on dangerous trends inside the country toward accelerating rightward drift and the loss of control over the expansion of the Self-Defense Forces, Japan is still trying to strengthen military construction in the Pacific region against China.

According to Kyodo News, on March 28 Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro attended a joint memorial ceremony between Japan and the United States held on Iwo Jima and inspected the island. He told the media that “given that China’s military activities are becoming increasingly active,” “strengthening the defense system for the vast air and sea areas on the Pacific side is an urgent issue.” He announced that in April, a dedicated study and discussion office for the defense system of the Self-Defense Forces, “Pacific Defense Concept Office,” will be established.

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