The court’s decision follows a series of violent attacks in China, including incidents involving foreign nationals, and highlights concerns among Japanese expatriates.
A Chinese man has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of fatally stabbing a 10-year-old Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen, southern China, last September. This decision, handed down on Friday, comes amid rising fears among Japanese expatriates living in China. The tragedy occurred shortly after another death sentence was delivered for a Chinese man who killed a Chinese woman while attacking a Japanese mother and her child in Suzhou province in June.
The growing number of high-profile executions in China has followed these incidents. The violence is part of a wider pattern of attacks on foreign nationals, with three separate incidents targeting foreigners last year. Prior to the Suzhou case, four US college instructors were injured in a knife attack at a park in Jilin, located in northern China.
In response to the attack in Shenzhen, major Japanese corporations such as Toshiba and Toyota advised their employees to take safety precautions, while Panasonic offered to cover the cost of flights for workers wishing to return to Japan.
The Suzhou attack occurred outside a Japanese school when Zhou Jiasheng, 52, carried out the assault after facing personal hardships, including losing his job and accumulating significant debts. The court in China ruled that the attack was premeditated, describing it as an “intentional murder.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi condemned the violence, stressing the profound social impact of the crime. He described the murder of innocent people, including a child, as “absolutely unforgivable.”
Notably, Chinese authorities did not reference Japan during the ruling, although Japanese consular officials were present. Hayashi also honoured the memory of Hu Youping, a Chinese bus attendant killed while attempting to protect the victims during the Suzhou attack.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning remarked that the case was “in judicial process” and reiterated that the government would continue to prioritise the safety of foreign nationals in the country. Meanwhile, China has faced an alarming rise in public violence, with many of the perpetrators believed to be driven by personal grievances and a desire for “revenge on society.”
There were 19 incidents of violence against pedestrians or strangers last year, an increase from the previous years. In one of the most shocking events, a man who killed at least 35 people in a car attack, thought to be the deadliest assault in a decade, was executed earlier this week. Last month, a man who murdered eight people in a stabbing spree at his university was sentenced to death. Additionally, in December, a man who injured 30 people by running over children and parents outside a primary school received a suspended death sentence.
