Japanese schoolboy stabbed to death by Chinese man on anniversary of 1931 invasion

A 44-year-old suspect has been arrested at the scene, police say

A 10-year-old schoolboy from Japan was fatally stabbed near his school in Shenzhen in southern China on Wednesday in the second knife attack near a Japanese school in recent months.

A 44-year-old suspect was arrested at the scene, police in the city said in a statement.

The boy was attacked by the man about 200m from the gates of the school in Shenzhen, according to China’s foreign ministry.

The boy’s father is Japanese, while his mother is a Chinese citizen, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press briefing, adding that the attack was an “individual” case.

The attack took place on the anniversary of an incident on 18 September 1931 that triggered war between China and Japan, a sensitive date at a time when diplomatic relations are in danger of deteriorating.

The 1931 Mukden Incident, also known as “918”, was the beginning of the invasion of Manchuria which ignited the long-standing conflict between the two countries.

“The fact that such a despicable act was committed against a child on his way to school is truly regrettable,” Japan’s foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters on Thursday.

“We take this incident extremely seriously, and we have once again requested that the Chinese side ensure the safety of Japanese nationals.”

The victim died in the early hours of 19 September, Ms Kamikawa told reporters. Japan has requested China to provide a comprehensive account of the facts and to implement robust safety measures, she added.

Japan’s foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa speaks to journalists in Tokyo Thursday, 19 September 2024, about an incident that a 10-year-old Japanese student was attacked by a man at a Japanese school in Shenzhen, southern China (AP)

While Chinese authorities did not specify a motive, reports suggest that anti-Japanese sentiment in the country has been rising. A similar attack occurred in June when a Japanese mother and child were stabbed in Suzhou.

Ahead of the “918” anniversary, Japan’s foreign minister said “we had just made a request to the Chinese foreign ministry to take thorough measures to ensure the safety of Japanese schools, so we are extremely disappointed that this incident occurred in this situation”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said they were investigating the case. “China will continue to take effective measures to protect the safety of all foreigners in China.”