A Japanese boy was attacked on the way to elementary school in Shenzhen, China, on Wednesday morning, according to local reports.
The incident occurred at around 8 a.m. local time. Following the attack, the school canceled classes and parents were called to pick up their children. The boy is receiving treatment for his injuries at a local hospital.
Authorities have apprehended the suspect, who is currently being questioned.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroshi Moriya addressed the issue during a news conference, stating that the Japanese Consulate General in Guangzhou had urged Chinese authorities to prevent further incidents and share information.
The attack comes just months after a similar incident in June, when a Japanese mother and child were stabbed by a 52-year-old Chinese man while waiting for a school bus in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. A Chinese bus attendant was killed in the attack.
Wednesday also marks the 93rd anniversary of the Mukden incident, which provided a pretext to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria from 1931 to 1933. Known in China as National Humiliation Day, it is a time when anti-Japanese sentiment often escalates, prompting Japanese diplomatic missions to issue warning to citizens living abroad.
Anti-Japanese sentiments have been on the rise in China, partly due to the release of treated water containing radioactive tritium from TEPCO’s meltdown-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan into the ocean.
Translated by The Japan Times