Japanese woman injured in subway station attack in China
A Japanese woman 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.
The Japanese government urged China to prevent similar incidents and ensure the safety of Japanese nationals.
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. It was not immediately clear what led to the attack on Thursday.
An informed source said the attack reportedly occurred after the woman and child got off the subway train and the child tried to go to the restroom.
With this year marking the 80th anniversary of what China calls its victory in the 1937-1945 War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing has warned citizens of rising anti-Japan sentiment.
On Sept. 3, China plans to hold a military parade in the capital's Tiananmen Square to commemorate the war anniversary.
The consulate general also urged Japanese expatriates in China to remain vigilant when going out, especially when accompanied by children, and to watch for suspicious individuals.
A mother whose child attends a Japanese school in Suzhou said, "Parents are all shocked. I will avoid going out with my child." The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it will take effective measures to ensure the safety of foreigners.
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.
A Chinese film on the massacre in Nanjing committed by Japanese troops in 1937 hit screens on July 25, with more than 28 million people viewing it in a week, according to Chinese media.
The Shenzhen stabbing incident occurred on Sept. 18 last year, the 93rd anniversary of the Japanese bombing of a railroad track near Shenyang -- an event that marked the start of the Manchurian Incident, leading to Japan's invasion of northeastern China.
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