A 10-year-old Japanese student tragically passed away following a stabbing near his school in southern China. The boy, a student at the Shenzhen Japanese School, succumbed to his injuries on Thursday morning, according to Japanese officials.
The attacker, identified as a 44-year-old man surnamed Zhong, was apprehended at the scene, local authorities confirmed.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the attack as "extremely despicable" and stated that Tokyo had urged Beijing to provide a prompt explanation.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the incident is under investigation and that both nations are "in communication." He expressed China's "regret and sadness" over the incident during a press briefing.
Lin also confirmed that the boy was a Japanese national with a Japanese father and a Chinese mother. The motive behind the attack remains unclear, though there are concerns that rising nationalist sentiment in China may be fueling violence against foreigners.
In June, a similar attack took place in the eastern city of Suzhou, where a Japanese mother and her child were targeted. That incident, also near a Japanese school, resulted in the death of a Chinese national who tried to protect the pair. Around the same time, four American teachers were stabbed in the northern city of Jilin.
Chinese authorities have described these attacks as "isolated incidents," and Lin reaffirmed China's commitment to ensuring the safety of all foreigners in the country.
In response to the Shenzhen incident, the Japanese embassy in Beijing called on the Chinese government to prevent such tragedies from recurring. Some have pointed out that the stabbing coincided with the anniversary of the Mukden Incident, a 1931 event used by Japan to justify its invasion of Manchuria, which later sparked a long war with China.
Relations between Japan and China have historically been tense, with ongoing disputes over territorial and historical issues. Shingo Yamagami, Japan's former ambassador to Australia, attributed Wednesday's attack to "years of anti-Japan education" in China, calling the boy's death a devastating consequence.
Following the incident, Japanese schools in China have heightened security, with the Guangzhou Japanese School cancelling certain activities and advising against speaking Japanese loudly in public. Earlier this year, Japan allocated $2.5 million to improve security measures for school buses in China.
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