China has called on its citizens traveling to Japan or living in the country to exercise caution, following the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen a week ago.
“With the National Day holiday approaching…please enhance awareness of safety precautions and ensure safe travel in light of the current situation,” the Chinese Embassy in Japan said in a statement on Tuesday.
Photo taken on Jan. 11, 2023, shows the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. (Kyodo)
With China’s weeklong holiday set to begin on Tuesday next week, the embassy also advised Chinese nationals to respect local customs in Japan and avoid demonstrations or gatherings to prevent potential conflicts with Japanese people.
The 10-year-old boy, with a Japanese father and Chinese mother, was attacked on his way to a Japanese school in Shenzhen last Wednesday and died of his wounds early the next morning. A male suspect was apprehended near the school shortly after the incident.
While Chinese authorities have not disclosed the suspect’s motive, speculation has been rife that the stabbing was linked to 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 of northeastern China.
Japan’s top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday that Tokyo has been urging Beijing to clearly explain the facts related to the stabbing including the suspect’s motive, ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in China particularly children, and crack down on “baseless and malicious” anti-Japanese posts on social media.
“We will strongly ask China to swiftly implement (such measures),” the chief Cabinet secretary said at a regular press briefing in Tokyo.
Asked about the possibility of reviewing its advisory for Japanese nationals traveling to China, Hayashi said the government will make “an appropriate decision” by taking into account various factors, including the local security situation.
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