On the anniversary of the Mukden incident in 1931, a 10-year-old boy was attacked by a man 200 metres from his school in the high-tech city. In June, a Chinese woman was killed when she tried to stop a similar attack. Hiroshi Moriya, spokesman for the Tokyo government: collaboration with the Chinese authorities to “protect Japanese citizens”.
Rome () – At around 8am this morning a 44-year-old Chinese man, who is in custody, attacked a Japanese child with a knife The attack occurred on Monday, the 10-year-old boy was killed about 200 metres from his primary school in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, south of China. Chinese authorities said the victim’s condition – who was immediately taken to hospital – was stable, and Japanese government spokesman Hiroshi Moriya also confirmed that the attacker had been arrested. The Japanese embassy issued a warning after the attack, saying that such attacks were widespread throughout China and warned Japanese citizens to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious. The incident occurred on the 93rd anniversary of the “Mukden Incident”, which marked the start of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931.
This is not an isolated case. The widespread Chinese nationalism and the long list of hostilities between the two countries, which stretches back to the Second World War – including territorial and maritime claims – form the framework within which this violence must be interpreted. Last June, Hu Youping, a 54-year-old Chinese bus driver, was stabbed to death in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, when he tried to stop a man from attacking a Japanese mother and her preschool-aged child at a bus stop. Both survived with minor injuries. “On behalf of the Japanese government and people, I would like to express my deepest respect and sincere condolences for the courageous action,” Japanese ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi told reporters, stressing the importance of working with Chinese authorities to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens living in China.
It has also contributed to the deterioration of relations between the two countries, and increased xenophobic tensions, ban imposed by Beijing Last year, the US banned the import of any seafood from Tokyo, following the discharge into the sea of cooling water used at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The measure was widely supported by Chinese nationalist rhetoric, despite the fact that there were no scientifically proven indicators of danger to consumer health. These bans also had a significant impact on trade relations between the two countries: in 2022, the value of Japanese products shipped to China exceeded $900 million.
This climate is placing Japanese citizens living in China in a position of extreme alertness and instability, especially in those places where there is a high concentration. In the Shenzhen area, for example, there are many Japanese, because it is the headquarters of that country’s companies in the technology sector. And it is no coincidence that this latest attack occurred on the same day that the occupation of Manchuria is remembered, the memory of which is still alive and fuels nationalism. This morning Moriya reiterated during a press conference that “to protect Japanese citizens we have asked the Chinese authorities to take preventive measures and share detailed information.”
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