Tensions between Japan and China escalated following the tragic death of a 10-year-old Japanese student who was stabbed outside a Japanese school in Shenzhen, China. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, has prompted Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to demand an explanation from Beijing.
Expressing his outrage, Kishida called the attack “extremely despicable” and urged China to provide a detailed account of the incident as soon as possible. “For now, we will strongly urge China to provide an explanation about the facts of what happened. Since it’s been more than a day since the incident happened, we expect them to offer an explanation as soon as possible,” he said.
China, in response, expressed “regret and sadness” over the incident and announced the launch of an investigation. “China expresses its regret and sadness that this kind of unfortunate incident occurred,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian. “We mourn the passing of the boy and express our condolences to his family.” He also confirmed that the boy was a Japanese national with parents of Japanese and Chinese citizenship.
According to police reports, the attack took place on Wednesday morning and the suspect, a 44-year-old man, was apprehended shortly after.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa expressed her condolences to the boy’s family and called the death “extremely regrettable,” especially considering the recent calls for enhanced safety measures around the anniversary of the start of Japan’s invasion of China in the 1930s. Kamikawa also instructed Japanese schools in China to review their safety protocols and urged the Chinese authorities to investigate the attack thoroughly and take preventative measures to avoid similar incidents in the future.
In light of recent attacks targeting Japanese citizens and foreigners in China, the Japanese Embassy in China issued an email warning to Japanese citizens residing in the country to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions. The Japanese Consulate in Guangzhou, which oversees Shenzhen, also echoed these calls for heightened safety awareness.
This incident is not the first of its kind. On June 24th, a knife attack at a school bus stop for a Japanese school in Suzhou resulted in the death of a Chinese national who tried to intervene and injuries to a Japanese mother and her child. Earlier that month, a Chinese man stabbed four American university instructors in Jilin, injuring a Chinese bystander in the process. The instructors, from Cornell College, were teaching at Beihua University, and their injuries were not life-threatening.
