A man has apologized after being filmed leading a wedding motorcade in Tianjin while dressed as a Japanese imperial soldier — giving a rather incredible explanation as to why he happened to be wearing that costume at the time.

On Sunday, video clips went viral on Chinese social media showing the “Japanese devil” sitting on a motorcycle at the front of a large wedding convoy on the side of a Tianjin street. He gives the camera two thumbs up and later holds up his toy rifle as a group of people gathered around him smile and laugh.

The footage sparked shock and outrage from netizens across China who accused the man of being a “jingri” (精日), a buzzword that refers to a Chinese national who is “spiritually Japanese,” identifying more closely with Japan than China.

However, the man in the costume has since come forward to insist that he is definitely not a “jingri” and that the whole thing was simply one big misunderstanding.

In his video apology, the man, who says his name is Liu Bin, claims that he had been wearing the Japanese imperial military uniform because he was part of an anti-Japan web drama. Liu says that after shooting was finished he didn’t have time to go home and change clothes, so he decided to attend the wedding in costume.

He adds that he now knows that was the wrong thing to do, noting that he is a military veteran who was a “patriotic youth” and loves his country dearly. At the end of the video, Liu promises never to repeat the same mistake again, vowing not to wear his costume in public.

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=u0669ppq48c&width=500&height=375&auto=0

Liu’s fashion faux pas comes as China has instituted a new law to punish those who “glorify wars of invasion.” The law was put in place after a pair of men set the Chinese internet alight back in February by appearing in photos dressed in imperial Japanese military uniforms at a battle site in Nanjing.

So far, the law has resulted in charges being filed against an individual who allegedly defamed a firefighter who died in the line of duty, and a popular Chinese “rage comic” website being shut down for making fun of a communist hero.

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