According to Japanese TV station NHK, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing received a notice from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 21st that a man in his 40s who attacked a Japanese boy to death with a knife in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province last September had been executed a few days ago, but the notice did not specify the exact date and place of the execution.
On September 18, 2024, a 10-year-old Japanese boy in Shenzhen was attacked and stabbed on his way to school. The boy suffered multiple injuries and died after being sent to the hospital. The man who committed the crime with a knife was arrested on the spot.
However, since the incident, Chinese officials have consistently downplayed the fact that the victim was Japanese, and have refused to disclose details such as the perpetrator's motive.
According to previous reports from our Cantonese team, the Nanshan Branch of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau issued a "police report" after the incident, but the report made no mention of the "Japanese school" or the injured person's Japanese nationality. Chinese state media reports on the boy's stabbing were subsequently removed. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated that day that the assailant had been arrested, "The case is under further investigation, and relevant Chinese authorities will handle it in accordance with the law."
The news of the fatal stabbing of a Japanese boy in Shenzhen shocked Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued a statement on September 19, 2024, stating that "this is an extremely despicable act and a major, serious incident." Kishida pledged to provide full assistance to the family and strongly urged China to provide a detailed account of the incident to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and prevent a recurrence.
According to Japanese media reports, although the Japanese government asked China to explain the details of the case, including the motive of the crime, after the incident, China has repeatedly claimed that the case was only an "isolated incident" and refused Japanese media to enter the court to attend the trial.
Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported that although the Shenzhen court found the man guilty of intentional homicide, the verdict stated that he "killed the child in order to attract attention on the Internet." It is still unknown whether the suspect targeted the victim's nationality to commit the crime.
In June 2024, a man attacked a Japanese school bus with a knife in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, injuring a Japanese parent and child and killing a Chinese woman. The man, in his 50s, was also sentenced to death and has been executed.
NHK reported that China's refusal to explain the motives behind the crimes has caused some Japanese living in China to worry about their personal safety.
