Suspect detained in attack on Japanese woman at train station in China

Nikkei Asia

3 days ago

Crime
Victim was struck with hard object and treated at hospital, consulate general says
The area around the subway station in Suzhou, where a mother and child were reportedly attacked. (Photo by Tomoko Wakasugi)
SUZHOU, China (Kyodo) -- A Japanese women was assaulted while walking with her child at a subway station in Suzhou, eastern China, sustaining a non-life-threatening injury, the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai and sources familiar with bilateral relations said Friday.
Chinese authorities detained a suspect allegedly involved in the Thursday evening incident in Suzhou, the same city in Jiangsu province where a Japanese mother and child were injured and a Chinese woman was killed in a knife attack in June last year.
In the latest incident, the Japanese national was struck with a hard object and was treated at a hospital, according to the Japanese Consulate General.
An informed source said there is information that the attack occurred after the woman and the child got off from the subway and the child tried to go to the restroom.
With this year marking the 80th anniversary of what China calls its victory in the 1937-45 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing has warned citizens of rising anti-Japan sentiment.
It was not immediately clear what led to the attack on Thursday.
The Japanese government urged China to prevent similar incidents and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals.
The consulate general also asked Japanese expatriates in China to be vigilant about suspicious people when they go out and particularly pay attention if they are with children.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China said in a statement Friday that it is "extremely regrettable" that the latest incident occurred following the knife attack in Suzhou and the fatal stabbing of a 10-year-old Japanese boy in Shenzhen in September.