TOKYO (TR) – Following the arrest of a Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) officer for allegedly trespassing into the Chinese Embassy earlier this week, it has been revealed that the suspect had considered “suicide,” reports TBS News (Mar. 26).
Shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, 23-year-old Kodai Murata, a member of the GSDF’s Camp Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture, climbed over a wall from an adjacent building in entering the grounds.
Murata entered the grounds with a knife, and a knife with an 18-centimeter-long blade was found in shrubbery, police said.
On Thursday, police sent him to prosecutors on suspicion of trespassing.
According to the Tokyo , Murata has stated that he “did not intend to harm anyone, but rather to convey my opinion to the ambassador, and intended to commit suicide if it was not accepted.”
Murata purchased this knife at a mass-market retailer in Chuo Ward the day before the incident.
Afterward, Murata is believed to have stayed overnight at an internet cafe, then traveled to Roppongi Station by train on the day of the incident.
From there, he walked to the area around the embassy, walked around the vicinity, and then entered the embassy by climbing the wall.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that Murata threatened to kill Chinese diplomats.
On Wednesday, the National Police Agency instructed police nationwide to thoroughly increase security at foreign embassies and related facilities within Japan.
