Japanese student dies after stabbing in China

A ten-year-old student at a Japanese school in southern China has died one day after a stabbing.

The boy, who attended the Japanese school in Shenzhen, died of his injuries early Thursday, Japanese officials said.

His attacker, a 44-year-old man surnamed Zhong, was arrested on the spot, local police said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa called the attack “despicable” and said Tokyo had asked Beijing for an explanation “as soon as possible.”

Although neither side has confirmed the victim's nationality, the Shenzhen Japanese School website states that they are “Japanese children with Japanese nationality.”

The motive for the attack was initially unknown.

It came on the anniversary of the infamous Mukden Incident, in which Japan faked an explosion to justify its invasion of Manchuria in 1931, sparking a 14-year war with China.

“This should not happen in any country,” Kimikawa said.

The knife attack in Shenzhen followed a similar knife attack in June, when a man attacked a Japanese mother and her child in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou.

The Japanese embassy in Beijing called on the Chinese government in a statement on Thursday to “prevent a recurrence of such incidents.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the case was under investigation.

“China will continue to take effective measures to protect the safety of all foreigners in the country,” he added.

Relations between Japan and China have long been fraught with tension. For decades, the two sides have clashed over numerous issues ranging from historical grievances to territorial disputes.

Some observers have expressed concern that nationalist sentiments in China could lead to increasing violence against foreigners.

The knife attack in Suzhou in June also occurred near a Japanese school and led to the death of a Chinese citizen who had tried to protect a Japanese mother and her child. Earlier this month four American teachers were stabbed to death in the northern city of Jilin.

China described both as “isolated cases.”

A former Japanese diplomat said Wednesday's attack in Shenzhen was the “result of years of anti-Japanese education” in Chinese schools.

“This cost the precious life of a Japanese child,” wrote Shingo Yamagami, Japan’s former ambassador to Australia, on X.

Some Japanese schools in China have contacted parents following the stabbing in Shenzhen and put them on high alert.

The Guangzhou Japanese School has cancelled some activities and warned against speaking Japanese loudly in public.

Earlier this year, the Japanese government requested about $2.5 million to hire school bus security personnel in China.

The incident was met with some condemnation on Chinese social media, with one user commenting: “Violence is not patriotism.”