China Executes Man for 2024 Fatal Stabbing of Japanese Boy

Jiji Press

9:12 JST, April 22, 2025

Hong Kong, April 21 (Jiji Press)—China has executed a man for the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen, southern China, in September last year, it was learned Monday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry informed the Japanese Embassy in Beijing the same day of the execution of Zhong Changchun, but did not provide details, such as when and where the punishment was carried out, diplomatic sources said.

The incident occurred as the 10-year-old boy was walking to a local Japanese school on Sept. 18, 2024. The boy was stabbed in the stomach with a knife and died the following day.

In January, a district court in the Chinese city sentenced Zhong to death, describing his act as extremely malicious.

The man’s trial did not reveal whether he specifically targeted a Japanese national. While the Japanese government has urged the Chinese side to get to the bottom of the matter, the Chinese side has claimed that the case was a one-off incident.