A Chinese court has sentenced a man to death for fatally stabbing a 10-year-old Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen, a case that has heightened concerns among Japanese expatriates in China.
The ruling follows a string of violent attacks, including another death sentence handed to a man who killed a Chinese woman while attacking a Japanese mother and child in Suzhou.
Japanese companies, such as Toyota and Panasonic, advised employees to exercise caution, with some offering free flights home. China’s government pledged to protect foreign nationals, while Japanese officials condemned the crimes as “unforgivable.”
Recent high-profile cases, including mass stabbings and car attacks, underscore growing security concerns across the country.
In the Suzhou case, a Chinese court determined that Zhou Jiasheng, 52, carried out the attack near a Japanese school after “losing his will to live” due to job loss and mounting debts.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi reported that the court ruled the attack as “intentional murder” that had a “significant social impact” as justification for the death sentence. Although the court did not reference Japan in its verdict, Hayashi noted that Japanese consulate officials in Shanghai attended the sentencing.
Hayashi condemned the attack as “absolutely unforgivable,” highlighting the loss of “innocent people,” including a child. He also paid tribute to Hu Youping, a Chinese bus attendant who was killed while heroically defending a Japanese mother and her child during the incident.
Image credit: Robert Bye
