Tokyo [Japan], September 20 (ANI): After a 10-year-old Japanese boy was stabbed on his way to school in China’s Shenzhen, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida demanded an explanation from Beijing over the fatal stabbing on Japanese children in China in recent months, CNN reported.
Speaking to reporters, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the attack “a despicable crime and a serious and grave matter,” and urged China to protect Japanese people in the country.
“We strongly demand that the Chinese side explain the facts of the case. As more than a day has already passed since the crime, we have instructed them to provide an explanation as soon as possible,” Kishida said.
“Such an incident must never be repeated. We strongly urged the Chinese side to ensure the safety of Japanese people.”
At a regular news conference on Thursday, China’s foreign ministry expressed “regret and heartache” over what it called an “unfortunate incident” and extended condolences to the boy’s family.
Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the ministry, said the case was being investigated and called it an “isolated incident.”
“Similar cases could happen in any country,” Lin said. “China has always taken, and will continue to take effective measures to ensure the safety of all foreign nationals in China.”
Chinese authorities did not mention the motive for Wednesday’s attack. But nationalism, xenophobia, and anti-Japanese sentiment are on the rise in the country, often fanned by state media.
According to China’s foreign ministry, the boy, whose father is Japanese and mother is Chinese, was stabbed around 200 meters from the school gate on Wednesday morning in the southern city of Shenzhen. Wounded in his abdomen, he died early Thursday, according to the Japanese government, citing Kyodo news.
Further, the Shenzhen police shared their statement and stated, a 44-year-old suspect was apprehended at the scene and taken into custody.
The man was unemployed and had previously been detained twice on suspicion of damaging public telecom facilities and disrupting public order, state media in Shenzhen reported Friday, citing the police.
Meanwhile, in June, a Chinese man wounded a Japanese woman and her child in a stabbing attack in front of a school bus in Suzhou, eastern China. A Chinese bus attendant who tried to intervene later died of her injuries.
Following that attack, Japan’s foreign ministry told Japanese schools in China to review their safety measures, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters Thursday.
Public attacks against foreigners had been rare in China, but a series of high-profile stabbings have raised concerns in recent months.
Two weeks before the Japanese mother and child were attacked in Suzhou, four American college instructors were stabbed by a Chinese man at a public park in Jilin in the northeast, after he bumped into one of them, according to Chinese police.
China’s foreign ministry has described both attacks as “isolated incidents” and did not release further information on the motives. (ANI)
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