Japanese boy stabbed to death in Chinese school – cause for concern over xenophobic sentiment

A 10-year-old student at the Japanese school in Shenzhen, southern China, died on Wednesday after a stabbing, Japanese officials confirmed.
The boy succumbed to his injuries early Thursday morning, just one day after the brutal attack.
The suspect, a 44-year-old man named Zhong, was arrested on the spot by local authorities. The motive for the attack remains unclear and Chinese police have not yet released any further details.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa condemned the incident, calling it “despicable” and urging Beijing to issue an explanation as soon as possible. “Such a thing should not happen in any country,” Kamikawa said. Although the victim's nationality has not been officially confirmed, the Shenzhen Japanese School also teaches students with Japanese nationality, according to its website.

There are fears that nationalist sentiments in China may be contributing to rising levels of violence against foreigners. The attack came just months after a Japanese mother and child were attacked near another Japanese school in Suzhou, a city in eastern China. That incident left a Chinese national dead after trying to protect the Japanese victims.

Although Beijing dismissed these attacks as “isolated incidents,” the Japanese embassy in Beijing called for stricter measures to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
The stabbing in Shenzhen coincides with the anniversary of the 1931 Mukden Incident, which marked the beginning of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria that led to a 14-year war with China. Some observers have linked the timing of the attack to lingering anti-Japanese sentiments in China, exacerbated by decades of historical grievances and territorial disputes between the two countries.
Former Japanese diplomat Shingo Yamagami blamed the attack on long-standing anti-Japanese rhetoric in China's education system. “This cost the precious life of a Japanese child,” Yamagami wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Following the tragedy, several Japanese schools in China have tightened their security measures.
The Japanese School in Guangzhou, for example, has cancelled some activities and warned parents and students to avoid speaking Japanese loudly in public. Earlier this year, the Japanese government requested $2.5 million to hire security guards for school buses in China.

Chinese officials have reiterated their commitment to ensuring the safety of all foreigners in the country. Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said the Shenzhen stabbing was still under investigation and authorities would take “effective measures” to protect foreigners living in China.

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