Russian Embassy in Japan confirms receiving envelope with bullet
08.02.2011, 14.53
TOKYO, February 8 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Embassy in Tokyo confirmed on Tuesday that it had received a rifle bullet in an envelope.
"We can confirm the fact of receiving a bullet, mailed by unidentified persons," an Embassy official told Itar-Tass, "we believe the ultra-right forces or mentally unstable people are behind it. We've informed police about the incident and the local secret services are investigating this unfriendly act."
Earlier, Tokyo-based media outlets reported that an envelope containing a rifle bullet and the letter demanding the return of the northern territories" had been delivered to the Russian diplomatic mission.
The Japanese police have launched an investigation of what they believe to be "possible intimidation."
According to the police, the paper attached to the bullet runs the phrase "the northern territories are our land."
The Embassy reported that it had received the envelope on Monday night. The sender's name is not indicated. The letter was mailed in the Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo.
On Monday, the Russian Embassy told Itar-Tass that it was sending a note of protest to the Japanese Foreign Ministry in connection with the actions by the radicals near the Embassy on Northern Territories Day, including the desecration of the Russian flag.
Last December, a vial with liquid marked "poisonous" was delivered to the Russian Embassy. The sender was an activist of an ultra-right organization. The police promised to investigate the incident.
As in previous years, Japanese radicals staged noisy rallies around the Russian Embassy in Tokyo on February 7, to mark the so-called Northern Territories Day. The rallies were held in the presence of police and the Japanese security service that were on hand to prevent undesirable outcomes. Regrettably, the Japanese side was unable to ensure the normal functioning of the Embassy in violation of the Vienna convention.
This created problems for people entering or exiting the diplomatic mission, including Embassy personnel and members of their families. "In actual fact, the Embassy was blocked for quite a long time," a Russian diplomat said.
ITAR-TASS