Even ordinary people know to apologize — Why doesn't the Japanese government?

About a week ago, Kodai Murata, a Third Class Private of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, broke into the Chinese Embassy in Japan by scaling a wall with a knife. This act constituted a serious violation of international law and was egregious in nature. Yet to this day, the Japanese government has only perfunctorily expressed "deep regret", refusing to say a single word of "apology". This insincere and evasive attitude has aroused indignation among the Chinese people and raised questions in the international community. Many rational voices in Japan have also criticized the government for shifting the blame.

On March 28, Japanese citizens held a spontaneous rally in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Holding up banners and chanting slogans such as "Apologize, Takaichi", "Apologize, Koizumi" and "We are sorry, China", they demanded the Japanese government face up to the seriousness of the embassy intrusion incident and offer a formal apology to China.

One participant said bluntly, "What this Self-Defense Force member did is utterly intolerable. The first thing Japan should do is to offer a sincere apology to China. Yet, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi have refused to do so, and have instead fobbed off the issue with a few words of regret. I strongly protest this. Besides, Sanae Takaichi must apologize for her erroneous remarks on the so-called 'Taiwan contingency'."

Another said emotionally, "As a Japanese citizen, I feel deeply ashamed that our government has refused to apologize. Many Japanese people feel sorry about that and sincerely hope to see friendly ties with China".

Apologizing for mistakes is common sense — even ordinary Japanese citizens know that. That is why the Japanese government's silence on an apology is particularly deafening, and has sparked heated discussions both online and offline, with people expressing strong disapproval of the government's handling of the incident.

Some netizens commented: "An active-duty Self-Defense Force officer breaking into the Chinese Embassy with a knife was an unprecedented serious incident. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, as top officials responsible for Japan's national security, are obliged to inform the Japanese public and China of what happened and hold the perpetrator to account. The situation is so grave that the prime minister should personally apologize."

Some described the remark of "deep regret" by Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara as arrogant and rude, and asked: "Does anyone in the government see a problem here? How would they react if the same thing happened to Japan?"

Some Japanese citizens hit the hail on the head, pointing out that the root cause of the incident: "This was no accident. The right-wing forces have been stoking anti-China hostility and provoking confrontation to defend Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks, leading eventually to such an outrageous act."

These rational voices from the Japanese public sent a stark warning to the Japanese government: If truth continues to be distorted and lies amplified, if dangerous rhetoric is used as political bargaining chips, and if malicious sentiment goes unchecked, similar extreme acts will keep coming back.

Confucius said, "A fault that is not amended is a real fault". This Chinese saying is so popular in Japan that it has been accepted as a key moral principle. Yet the Japanese government seems to have thrown it into the Pacific Ocean.

Apologizing for a wrongdoing is the bare minimum that any individual or government should do. If the Japanese government does not even bother to apologize, how can it expect forgiveness from others — whether regarding the embassy intrusion or Japan's World War II war crimes?

It is high time the Japanese government abandoned its ostrich mentality — stop playing dumb and shifting responsibility. It must fully recognize the severe harm caused by the intrusion incident, carry out serious self-reflection, and adopt a responsible attitude to correct its mistakes and address the concerns of China and the international community.

The author is an observer of international affairs. 

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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