BEIJING, March 27 (Reuters) – Japan has expressed its regret over the break-in at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo by a knife-wielding Japanese military officer, but that is “far from enough,” the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.
The Japanese side has not discussed the details of the incident, Lin Jian, spokesperson at the foreign ministry, told a regular news conference.
Minoru Kihara, Japan’s most senior government spokesperson, described the incident on Tuesday as regrettable and said the government would take measures to prevent any recurrence.
SINO-JAPANESE TIES ALREADY UNDER STRAIN
The incident threatens to exacerbate Sino-Japanese ties. Relations have already deteriorated since November when the Japanese prime minister said Japan could deploy its military if a Chinese move against Taiwan also threatened its territory.
“The Japanese side has expressed deep regret to the Chinese side regarding this incident, but this is far from sufficient,” said Lin.
“We once again urge the Japanese side to conduct a thorough investigation as soon as possible and provide China with a responsible explanation.”
Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Friday that the incident was “truly regrettable” and that his ministry was “fully cooperating” with the police investigation underway.
“We will also respond strictly once the facts have been established,” he said.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Ethan Wang; Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Barbara Lewis)
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