A child enrolled at a Japanese school in the Chinese city of Shenzhen was stabbed to death on Wednesday, authorities confirmed on Thursday, the second such attack near Japanese educational centers in China in recent months.
Chinese authorities said the 10-year-old boy, a Japanese citizen, with a Japanese father and a Chinese mother, was stabbed by a 44-year-old assailant surnamed Zhong while on his way to school about 8 am (0000 GMT) on Wednesday.
He died early Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters in Tokyo.
“Medical experts made every effort to save his life, and the Chinese side will provide necessary support to his family for his care,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press conference in Beijing.
He said, “As per the information currently available, this is an individual case and such incidents can happen in any country.”
On Thursday afternoon people laid floral tributes at the gate of the school in Shenzhen’s affluent Shekou area, home to most of the city’s foreign community and international schools.
“As Chinese people, we oppose this behaviour, we oppose the teaching of hatred,” said a man who described himself as an ordinary resident of Shenzhen.
He said, “Many of us have been under the influence of such teachings of hatred for a long time, which has led to such bad consequences.”
The attack occurred on the anniversary of a 1931 incident that led to war between China and Japan, a sensitive date, and at a time when diplomatic relations risked deterioration.
“I actually didn’t know that Sept. 18 is a day of revenge for World War II for the Chinese people,” said a Japanese father of two in Shenzhen, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Suzuki, for security reasons.
“I’ve lived here for seven years and I didn’t know we needed to be cautious as Japanese while living in China.”
Kamikawa told reporters during the day that Japan has asked China to provide a detailed account of the facts and take stronger security measures.
“I take this incident extremely seriously,” she said.
“This should not happen in any country. In particular, I deeply regret that this heinous act was committed against a child on his way to school.”
The local Japanese Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that it had asked the Japanese government to ensure the safety of its citizens in the area.
It was the second such attack near a Japanese educational institution in China in recent months. In June, a man attacked a bus used by a Japanese school in the eastern city of Suzhou, resulting in the death of a Chinese national who tried to protect a Japanese mother and her child from the attacker.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
