ALBAWABA - Yoko Kamikawa, the foreign minister of Japan, called the reported killing of a 10-year-old Japanese kid in China "despicable" and asked that the Chinese government take all necessary steps to protect Japanese people living across the country.
The student, who Japanese media have not identified, passed away on Thursday, one day after he was reported to have been stabbed around 200 meters from his school in the Shenzhen, southern China, area.
There is concern that the event might lead to a further worsening in Sino-Japanese relations, even though it is unclear if the 44-year-old suspect targeted the student because he was Japanese.
The boy killed in Shenzhen was hospitalized after allegedly being stabbed in the stomach, and the suspected assailant was apprehended by police officers stationed near the boy's school, according to Kyodo news agency, citing Yoshiko Kijima, Japan's consul general in Guangzhou, which is responsible for Shenzhen.
The Japanese embassy advised Japanese citizens living in China to remain cautious and take measures to protect themselves.
Kamikawa called the incident "despicable" and told reporters in Tokyo she was "deeply saddened" by it. She stated that Japan's government has requested that Chinese authorities "make every possible effort" to safeguard Japanese people in China and provide a full explanation of the stabbing.
