Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in New York on Monday to discuss the fatal stabbing of a schoolboy in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. Kamikawa demanded that China provide details about the incident and take measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again. The 10-year-old boy was stabbed by a Chinese man on his way to a Japanese school on September 18 and died the following day in the hospital.
Kamikawa called for China to clarify the facts of the incident, punish the perpetrator, and implement preventive measures. She also requested concrete steps to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in China and urged China to crack down on anti-Japanese posts on social media.
In response, Wang stated that it was an isolated incident that would be handled according to law. Both ministers agreed to continue discussions through diplomatic channels.
The two ministers also discussed the resumption of imports of Japanese seafood, which had been agreed upon between Tokyo and Beijing regarding treated water discharge from Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the ocean. Kamikawa mentioned implementing additional monitoring and presenting evidence of progress towards lifting restrictions.
Other issues raised during their meeting included Kamikawa expressing concern about Chinese military aircraft violating Japanese airspace in August. She also called for immediate release of detained Japanese nationals by Chinese authorities and removal of a buoy set up by China within Japan’s exclusive economic zone in East China Sea.
