Chinese Embassy in Japan says authorities fail to act on threats

TOKYO (AP) — The Chinese Embassy in Japan said Thursday it has received multiple threats and accused Japanese authorities of failing to take effective measures despite its repeated reporting to police, as tensions between the two sides rise.

Shi Yong, acting Chinese ambassador to Japan, said the embassy on March 5 received a letter from a group claiming to comprise former police and military members and threatening attacks on China’s diplomatic missions in Japan and “wiping out all Chinese” in the country.

The embassy said on X that it immediately reported to Japanese police and criticized they did not take the matter seriously, implement effective steps or establish the facts.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

Tensions have escalated since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment in November that any Chinese military action against self-ruled Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response. China imposed diplomatic and economic measures against Japan.

In late March, a Japanese army officer was arrested after he trespassed at the Chinese Embassy compound carrying a knife. China protested to Japan, and Japanese police have since stepped up security around the embassy.

A week after the incident, the embassy received a bomb threat on social media by another individual claiming to be a Self-Defense Force reserve personnel, triggering a two-hour bomb hunt, Shi said. He did not say if any bomb was found.

Shi acknowledged that Japanese police had stepped up security around the embassy, but that the diplomatic mission is still “exposed to threats.”