S/ NNN Correspondent/ There are additional security booths near the school as security measures increase.

The Japanese community in cities throughout China is affected by the murder of Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen as the Japanese government seeks answers from China.A 5th grade schoolboy died after being stabbed on his walk to the local Japanese school in Shenzhen on September 19. The school has received over 1,000 bouquets of flowers by September 20.

S/ Former student/ As a former student, I feel very frustrated and sad. I’m frustrated that this happened in the Shenzhen that I thought was safe.

In Shanghai, where the largest population of Japanese people in China reside, the consulate general held an emergency meeting on September 20 on safety measures with Japanese schools and economic groups in attendance.A Japanese organization in Beijing canceled its event as the Japanese community in China feels the ripple effects of the incident in Shenzhen. 

Meanwhile, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko met with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in New York City amidst the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 23 local time. The roughly one-hour meeting discussed the death of the Japanese schoolboy.  

Minister Kamikawa said at the start of the meeting that the foundation of Japan-China relations exists because of the exchange between the citizens of each country. The minister expressed strong concern stating that this incident is a serious blow to that exchange. Chinese Minister Wang stated that the meeting would be meaningful to increase understanding and to further the strategic mutual benefit of the two nations. Wang did not mention the incident in his opening statement. Kamikawa conveyed that Japan is seeking the motive of the accident and specific safety measures from the Chinese government.

S/ Tsuge Yoshifumi, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs/ If the cause and motive are not provided, we are unable to give clear instruction on measures to be implemented. We would like the Chinese government to handle this properly.

Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Tsuge Yoshifumi met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong on September 23 to discuss the incident. Vice Minister Tsuge sought out a clear motive as well as a crackdown on anti-Japanese posts on social media at the meeting. Vice Minister Sun responded saying that all violence is strongly condoned and handled, but did not provide clear answers on motive.  According to Vice Minister Tsuge, approximately 43 million yen of emergency funds from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget was allocated to increase the security of Japanese schools in China.

A Japanese school located in Beijing is adding at most 6 security officers to the preexisting 4 officers to strengthen safety measures.