Chinese boy’s murder sparks fear in Japan

The murder of a Japanese student in the Chinese city of Shenzhen has raised concerns among the Japanese community living in China, with leading companies warning their employees to be vigilant.

Toshiba and Toyota have asked employees to take precautions to prevent any possible violence, while Panasonic is offering employees free flights home.

The Japanese government has repeatedly condemned the murder and called on the Chinese government to ensure the safety of its citizens.

The stabbed to death 10 year old boy Wednesday was the third high-profile attack on foreigners in China in recent months.

In a statement to the BBC, electronics giant Panasonic said it would “prioritise the safety and health of its employees” in mainland China following the latest attack.

Panasonic allows employees and their families to temporarily return to Japan at the company’s expense and also provides counseling services.

Toshiba, which has about 100 employees in China, has urged its workers to “be careful for their own safety”.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest carmaker Toyota told the BBC it was “supporting Japanese overseas” by providing them with any information they needed about the current situation.

Japan’s ambassador to Beijing also called on the Chinese government to “do its utmost” to ensure the safety of its citizens.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the attack “extremely despicable” and said Tokyo had “strongly urged” Beijing to provide an explanation “as soon as possible”.

Several Japanese schools in China have contacted parents, raising their level of vigilance following the stabbings.

Guangzhou Japanese Language School has canceled some activities and warned against speaking Japanese loudly in public.

Some members of the Japanese community in China have told the BBC that they are worried about the safety of their children.

One man, a 53-year-old businessman who has lived in Shenzhen for nearly a decade, said he would send his daughter back abroad to attend college earlier than usual.

“We always considered Shenzhen a safe place to live because it is relatively open to foreigners, but now we are all more cautious about our safety,” he said.

“Many Japanese people are extremely worried and many relatives and friends have contacted me to ask about my safety.”

Chinese officials in Shenzhen said they were “deeply saddened” by the incident and began installing security cameras near the school on Thursday morning.

“We will continue to take effective measures to protect the lives, property, safety and legitimate rights of everyone in Shenzhen, including foreigners,” they told Shenzhen Special Zone Daily on Friday.

An editorial in a state-run newspaper criticized the murder suspect, saying “this violent act does not represent the character of ordinary Chinese people”.

On Friday, locals began laying flowers at the gate of the Japanese school in Shenzhen.

“It’s sad. It shouldn’t be like this,” a Shenzhen local told Singapore news agency The Straits Times.

Another, a retired teacher, said: “This child, no matter what country he comes from, is the hope of a family and of a nation.”

While Shenzhen is still reeling from the murder, more details have emerged from various news reports and official sources.

The incident happened at around 8:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Wednesday outside the boy’s school, Shenzhen Japanese School.

The boy – named only by Chinese police as Shen – was stabbed in the abdomen and later died of his injuries early Thursday morning.

The attacker, a 44-year-old man surnamed Zhong, was arrested at the scene.

According to Shenzhen state media, he has a criminal record, having been arrested for “damaging public infrastructure” in 2015 and “disturbing public order” in 2019.

A witness said the suspect did not hide his face when he carried out the attack.

“He didn’t run away, he just stood there and was arrested by local police guarding the school,” the witness told Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

Chinese authorities have not revealed an exact motive, but have repeatedly called the stabbing an “isolated incident,” as they have done with two previous incidents this year.

In June, a man targeted a Japanese mother and her child in the eastern city of Suzhou. That attack also occurred near a Japanese school and resulting in the death of a Chinese citizen who tried to protect the mother and son.

This has prompted the Japanese government to request around $2.5m (£1.9m) to hire security guards for school buses in China.

Early June, Four American teachers stabbed in the northern city of Jilin.

All eyes are now on the Chinese government and how they assure the Japanese community that they are safe in China, while also ensuring this does not turn into a major diplomatic crisis.

Relations between the two countries have long been tense. For decades, the two sides have clashed over a number of issues, from historical grievances to territorial disputes.

Some pointed out that the stabbing occurred on the anniversary of the infamous Mukden Incident, when Japan faked an explosion to justify its 1931 invasion of Manchuria, sparking a 14-year war with China.

A former Japanese diplomat said Wednesday’s attack in Shenzhen was “the result of years of anti-Japanese education” in Chinese schools.

According to Japanese diplomats interviewed by the BBC, while diplomatic relations are often tense, economic cooperation has always existed in parallel and stably.

But the fact that the attack took place in the international tech hub of Shenzhen is likely to worry both sides.

Leading Japanese companies in China are warning their employees that their presence there could raise suspicions and what that could mean for economic relations between Tokyo and Beijing.

Additional reporting by Chika Nakayama in Tokyo and Kelly Ng in Singapore.