Japanese schoolboy stabbed in China confirmed dead, NHK reports

TOKYO: A 10-year-old boy enrolled in a Japanese school in Shenzhen, China, has died after being stabbed by an assailant on Wednesday (Sept 18), Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported citing the Japanese consul-general.

The attack took place near the school on the anniversary of an incident in 1931 that triggered war between China and Japan, a sensitive date at a time when diplomatic relations are in danger of deteriorating.

It was the second such attack near a Japanese educational facility in China in recent months.

The boy was stabbed on his way to school at about 8am on Sept 18 by the suspected 44-year-old assailant, who was arrested on the spot, according to Chinese authorities.

He died in the early hours of Sept 19, NHK reported.

The Japanese government has formally protested the attack, and the Chinese ambassador was summoned in Tokyo on Sept 18 afternoon, according to a statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Sept 18 that the incident was under investigation and declined to comment on the motive of the attacker.

The incident follows a similar one in June, when 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 shield a Japanese mother and her child from the assailant.

The schoolboy’s death is likely to further damage ties between the two neighbours, which have been tense due to historical resentments, an ongoing territorial dispute, China’s reaction to Japan’s releasing wastewater from a destroyed nuclear power plant and other issues.

Sept 18 marked the anniversary of the 1931 Mukden Incident, which was the beginning of the invasion of Manchuria.

Japan requested China to make every effort to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals, according to the ministry’s statement, and “strongly urged” that security be strengthened around Japanese schools in the nation.

Ambassador Wu Jianghao said it was a heartbreaking incident.

Japan’s government is still waiting for the authorities in Suzhou to provide a detailed explanation of the June attack, with the consulate in nearby Shanghai saying they continue to request information from the city.

Also on Sept 18, a Chinese aircraft carrier entered Japan’s contiguous waters for the first time, the latest in a string of military manoeuvres that prompted a protest from Tokyo to Beijing. – Reuters, Bloomberg