Japan's President Fumio Kishida demands answers from China after the fatal stabbing of a student in Shenzhen

Hong Kong/Tokyo
CNN
—

Japan's Prime Minister has demanded an explanation from Beijing about the fatal knife attack on a schoolboy. This is the second knife attack on Japanese children in China in recent months.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the 10-year-old boy was stabbed to death by a man on Wednesday on his way to class about 200 meters from the gate of the Japanese school in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The child, whose father is Japanese and whose mother is Chinese, was a Japanese citizen, according to the ministry. He was taken to a hospital and later died of his injuries, authorities said on Thursday.

A 44-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene and taken into custody, Shenzhen police said. The man is unemployed and has already been arrested twice for damaging public telecommunications facilities and disturbing public order, state media in Shenzhen reported on Friday, citing police.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the attack “a despicable crime and a serious and grave matter” and called on China to protect the Japanese people in the country.

“We urge the Chinese side to explain the facts of the case. Since more than a day has passed since the crime, we have instructed them to make an explanation as soon as possible,” Kishida said.

“Such an incident must never be repeated. We urge the Chinese side to ensure the safety of the Japanese people.”

At a regular press conference on Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed its “regret and sorrow” over the “regrettable incident” and offered its condolences to the boy's family.

Lin Jian, a ministry spokesman, said the case was under investigation and described it as an “isolated incident.”

“Similar cases could happen in any country,” Lin said. “China has always taken effective measures and will continue to do so to ensure the safety of all foreigners in China.”

The attack came on a sensitive date, namely the anniversary of the “918” incident in 1931, when Japanese soldiers blew up a Japanese railway line in northeastern China under the pretext of invading the region.

This emotional day is celebrated in China as the beginning of the Japanese invasion, with state media and politicians urging the public never to forget this national humiliation.

Chinese authorities did not reveal the motive for Wednesday's attack. But nationalism, xenophobia and anti-Japanese sentiments are on the rise in the country, often fuelled by state media.

In June, a Chinese man injured a Japanese woman and her child in a knife attack in front of a school bus in Suzhou, eastern China. A Chinese bus attendant who tried to intervene later succumbed to her injuries.

Following the attack, the Japanese Foreign Ministry asked Japanese schools in China to review their security measures, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters on Thursday.

Ahead of the 918th anniversary, Japan called on China to “take comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of Japanese schools. Therefore, we are extremely disappointed that this incident occurred under these circumstances,” Kamikawa said.

Public attacks on foreigners have been rare in China, but a series of spectacular stabbings in recent months have raised concerns.

Two weeks before the attack on the Japanese mother and her child in Suzhou, four American university lecturers were stabbed to death by a Chinese man in a public park in Jilin, in the northeast of the United States, after he collided with one of them, according to Chinese police.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry described both attacks as “isolated incidents” and provided no further information on the motives.

The bitter memory of the invasion and brutal occupation by Japan and the current territorial disputes have previously led to violent outbreaks of public sentiment against Japan in China.

In 2012, anti-Japanese protests broke out in several Chinese cities over disputed islands in the East China Sea. In a country where the authorities rarely allow protests, the nationwide rallies appeared to take place with at least tacit official approval. Under the watchful eyes of the police, angry demonstrators besieged the Japanese embassy in Beijing, looted Japanese restaurants and vandalized Japanese cars in numerous cities.

Many Japanese companies and people live in China's largest cities, including Shenzhen, a technology center with about 3,600 residents, the Tokyo Foreign Ministry said.

Some Shenzhen residents expressed shock and anger that the attack took place in a city long considered China's gateway to the world. Some left flowers and apologies for the deceased child outside the gates of the Japanese school, according to social media posts on Thursday.

The recent attacks on children have also sparked renewed concern among Japanese families living in China.

In recent years, Japanese schools in China have faced increasing criticism and suspicion from extremist Chinese nationalists, with some online posts calling for the schools to be closed, while others have accused them of being breeding grounds for spies.

Following the Suzhou knife attack, China's major social media platforms cracked down on online hate speech against Japanese people, removing content and closing accounts that promoted “extreme nationalism.”

But anti-Japanese sentiment persists. After Wednesday's knife attack, some nationalists accused Japan of “directing and orchestrating” the attack, while others questioned why there were still Japanese schools in China.

As news of the attack gained popularity online, censors deleted articles that cited Japanese media reports and provided more details than the brief statements from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Shenzhen police.

Critical comments about Beijing’s nationalist actions were also deleted.

“When will the anti-Japanese education and propaganda finally end?” was one question in a now-deleted comment on the microblogging site Weibo.

“If this continues, who will be willing to come (to China)?” said another deleted post.

Lin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said he believed the “isolated case” would not affect exchanges between China and Japan.

“We always welcome people from all countries, including Japan, to visit, study, do business and live in China,” he said.

This story has been updated with additional information.