10-year-old Japanese boy dies after being stabbed near his school in China

A 10-year-old Japanese student was stabbed near his school in southern China and died, Tokyo authorities said.The attacker was arrested at the scene and the case is still under investigation, according to a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.The incident occurred on the anniversary of Japan's 1931 invasion of Manchuria, in what is now northeast China.

A 10-year-old Japanese schoolboy stabbed near his school in southern China has died, Tokyo authorities said Thursday, demanding Beijing provide details of the attack and take preventive measures. A suspect has been taken into custody.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa expressed her condolences and stressed that the attack came despite Tokyo's calls for caution and heightened security as China marks a key anniversary of its war with Japan.

The student was stabbed about 200 meters from the gate of the Shenzhen Japanese School on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a daily press briefing. Lin said the attacker was arrested at the scene and the case was still under investigation.

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In a statement released Wednesday, Shenzhen police said a 44-year-old man surnamed Zhong had been taken into custody in connection with the stabbing of a minor.

No motive for the attack was immediately determined.

Kamikawa noted that Japan had asked the Chinese Foreign Ministry to step up security around Japanese schools ahead of the Sept. 18 anniversary of the Mukden Incident in 1931, which China marks as the start of Japan's invasion of Manchuria, in present-day northeast China.

An explosion on a Japanese railway line in the northern city of Shenyang, caused by Japanese soldiers but blamed on the Chinese, was used as a pretext for the invasion.

“I find it extremely regrettable that the attack took place despite this,” Kamikawa said, adding that such an attack “should never happen in any country.” Japan takes the attack “extremely seriously” and will renew its request that Beijing do more to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens, she added.

Kamikawa said she had also advised Japanese schools in China to review their security measures and called on Beijing to provide details of the killing and do everything possible to prevent similar attacks on Japanese citizens.

On Thursday, Lin expressed his condolences and sorrow over the boy's death. “Our thoughts are with his family,” he said, adding that China would provide necessary assistance. He identified the boy as a Japanese citizen whose parents are from both Japan and China.

Following a previous knife attack at a Japanese school bus stop, the ministry has urged Japanese school operators in China to review their security measures, said Masashi Mizobuchi, deputy press secretary of the ministry, and officials will discuss how they can better ensure the safety of Japanese students.

On June 24, a stabbing attack at a Japanese school bus stop in the southeastern city of Suzhou killed a Chinese national who tried to stop the attacker and injured a Japanese mother and her child.

Lin denied any connection between the two incidents, saying “similar cases can happen in any country” and denied that the attacks harm China's relations with Japan.

“China and Japan are in communication on this matter. We always welcome people from all countries, including Japan, to come to China for travel, study, business or residence,” Lin said, pledging to take effective measures to protect their safety while in China.

“We believe that individual cases will not affect exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan,” he said.

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Although news of the Japanese boy's death was not reported by Chinese media on Thursday, people posted their condolences on social media platform Weibo and condemned the attack.

In an email to Japanese citizens living in China, the Japanese embassy warned residents to be vigilant and take precautions, citing knife attacks in recent months. The Japanese consulate in Guangzhou, which is responsible for Shenzhen, called for measures to prevent such incidents.

In early June, a Chinese man stabbed four American university professors in a public park in Jilin, in the northeast of the country, as well as a Chinese man who tried to intervene. The four Cornell College professors were teaching at Beihua University. Their injuries were not serious.