OPINION: Chinese Celebrity Arrested in Tokyo for Domestic Violence

Jiang Jinfu issued an apology on Weibo

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Jiang Jinfu, a prominent Chinese celebrity, in Tokyo for domestic violence on November 28. According to South China Morning Post, Jiang’s girlfriend, Haruka Nakaura, shared images showing bruises on her face and body through Instagram on November 20, and Jiang soon issued an apology on Weibo, a social media platform, admitting to the abuse and expressing a willingness to face appropriate punishment.

On November 27, in an interview aired on a special program of the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Nakaura revealed the details of Jiang’s violent actions, including beating her from midnight to the next morning and using hammers, according to Global Times. The next afternoon, Jiang is reported to have turned himself in at a local police station in Tokyo.

Jiang and Hakaura announced their relationship in July and soon moved into an apartment in Ikebukuro, according to Asahi Shimbun. The report of Jiang’s domestic violence received wide attention on social media in China. Supporters of Jiang claimed on Weibo that Nakaura lied about her pregnancy, calling Jiang’s action “patriotic;” whereas, opponents called his actions immoral and punishable. Interestingly, many users who called themselves “honest and just observers” commented that, while Jiang should not commit domestic violence, Nakaura was not entirely honest.

In Asian countries such as China and Japan, domestic violence has long been viewed as a private affair, with Japan enacting a law regarding domestic violence not until 2001 and China not until 2016, South China Morning Post reports. As the situation escalates, the discussion on Jiang’s crime in China has stopped centering around the facts and is evolving into a debate regarding national identity, patriotism, and feminism.