Chinese police believe stabbing of Japanese boy isolated incident

Local Chinese police believe the fatal stabbing of a 10-year-old Japanese schoolboy in the southern city of Shenzhen earlier this week was an isolated incident, with the perpetrator acting alone, local media reported Friday.

Chinese authorities have yet to disclose the suspect's motive following the attack near a Japanese school in Shenzhen on Wednesday morning. The local media report may reflect Beijing's effort to present the incident as unrelated to the victim's nationality, aiming to prevent a potential deterioration in relations with Tokyo.

The 44-year-old unemployed man surnamed Zhong, who was apprehended at the scene, has admitted to injuring the boy with a knife, according to Shenzhen media.

The boy, whose father is Japanese and mother is Chinese, was stabbed around 200 meters from the school gate. Wounded in his abdomen, he died early Thursday, according to the Japanese government.

China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong also told Japanese Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi on Thursday that the deadly attack was an "isolated incident" committed by an individual with a criminal history, according to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.

The report said the suspect had been detained in 2015 and 2019 on suspicion of sabotaging public telecommunications facilities and spreading false information to disturb public order, respectively.

However, speculation has been rife that the suspect intentionally targeted a Japanese child, as Japanese students who do not wear uniforms are easily distinguishable from local Chinese schoolchildren who do wear them.

A Japanese government source said the victim's family was believed to have no connection with the suspect and that it was unlikely the attack occurred due to a personal grudge.

Wednesday marked the 93rd anniversary of a Japanese bombing of a railroad track near Shenyang, the start of the Manchurian Incident that led to Japan's invasion and occupation of northeastern China, which lasted until the end of World War II.

The latest stabbing follows a similar knife attack in Suzhou, near Shanghai, in June, in which a Japanese mother and child were injured. A Chinese woman died while trying to stop the assailant.

Following the Suzhou case, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called it an "isolated incident."

Bilateral ties have recently deteriorated over issues such as China's detention of Japanese nationals on alleged espionage charges and the violation of Japanese airspace by a Chinese military spy plane over the East China Sea in late August.

Meanwhile, additional surveillance cameras had been installed around the Japanese school in Shenzhen by Friday, following Tokyo's request for enhanced security after the incident.

The Shenzhen Japanese school said it has received over 1,000 bouquets, with many local residents expressing their sympathy over the boy's death.

The principal of the Japanese school told reporters Thursday night that the victim was a "caring brother," loved animals and cherished living creatures. "He was vibrant, had many friends and enjoyed life," the teacher recalled, saying the boy often played dodgeball with his friends.

© KYODO