BEIJING: A senior Japanese official urged China on Monday to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in the country following the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, southern China, last week.
Meeting with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Beijing, Yoshifumi Tsuge, Japan’s state minister for foreign affairs, also called on the Chinese side to get to the bottom of the incident, including the motive of the suspect, as early as possible.
To prevent a recurrence, Tsuge called for thorough actions to be taken against groundless and malicious anti-Japanese posts on Chinese social media.
He also emphasized the need for Japan and China to cooperate to ensure safety at Japanese schools in China, such as exchanging information and devising measures to be taken when children commute to and come home from school.
Sun reiterated feelings of regret and profound grief over the latest incident.
The boy, 10, a student of a Japanese school in Shenzhen, was stabbed by a 44-year-old man Wednesday morning. The child was sent to hospital for treatment but died in the wee hours of Thursday. The suspect was captured by local police at the site of the crime soon after the incident.
Sun said the Chinese side will provide necessary support to the boy’s family and make efforts to ensure safety of Japanese and other foreign nationals in China.
Before the fatal stabbing, the suspect, who does not have a regular job, had caused problems twice that had to be dealt with by police.
The suspect’s motive remains unknown, while China’s Foreign Ministry and local authorities have said that the incident was an individual or accidental case.
JIJI Press