Concerns Remain 1 Year After Attack on Japanese in China; Background, Motive in Deadly Incident Still Not Clear
The incident occurred on June 24, 2024. The mother in her 30s and her preschool son, who were waiting for a Japanese school bus, were injured after being attacked by the knife-wielding man, and the Chinese woman was killed by the man as she tried to stop the attack. The boy was seriously injured and hospitalized.
On the afternoon of June 18, security personnel were seen on high alert around the bus stop near the place where the incident occurred. A police vehicle also was on patrol in the area.
When a school bus arrived at the stop, the security personnel surrounded the door of the bus as children disembarked. A security guard wearing a stab-resistant vest was also present near the school.
According to the Consulate-General of Japan in Shanghai, security measures have been strengthened with the cooperation of the Suzhou municipal government, including the deployment of security guards on buses. Similar safety measures are being implemented at other Japanese schools in China with funding from the Japanese government.
Parents who send their children to Japanese schools are believed to be grateful for the strong security measures.
In April, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reported to the Japanese Embassy in China the execution of the perpetrator, who was sentenced to death for the attack, but this has not completely dispelled concerns in the Japanese community.
This is because the background to the incident remains unclear, although it was reported that Zhou was dissatisfied with society. 'It is still not known whether he targeted Japanese people,' said a Japanese man in his 40s whose son and daughter attend a Japanese school in eastern China.
According to the Japanese man, some of his colleagues have refused to be stationed in China due to safety concerns after the incident. The man said that there were few applicants for assignments in China in the first place, but the number of people who are willing to work in the country further decreased after the case.
In a separate case in September, a Chinese man was arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly fatally stabbing a Japanese boy on his way to school in Shenzhen, China.
According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the number of Japanese nationals living in China has been decreasing. The number of students enrolled in 12 Japanese schools in China decreased by about 10% to 3,391 this fiscal year from 3,761 last fiscal year, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry said.
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