Since the knife attack on a Japanese mother and child in Suzhou a year ago, the enrollment rate at Japanese schools in China has dropped by more than 10%, highlighting the ongoing concerns of Japanese expatriates about safety.
On June 24, 2024, a man stabbed a Japanese woman and her young son near a Japanese school in Suzhou at a bus stop. Hu Youping, a Chinese school bus attendant, tried to intervene but was fatally stabbed, at the age of 54. The man involved in the incident was sentenced to death in January of this year, with Chinese officials confirming the execution in April.
The motivation behind the attack remains unclear. In September of the same year, a 10-year-old Japanese boy was fatally stabbed in Shenzhen.
According to a report by Nikkei on June 25, since the attack occurred, the Japanese government has been taking measures to ensure the safety of its expatriates, such as arranging security personnel to ride on Japanese school buses across China and cooperating with local authorities. This Tuesday (June 24), the police have increased patrols near the crime scene in Suzhou.
“Even so, we cannot let our guard down,” said a Japanese expatriate living in Suzhou to Nikkei. Some graffiti has recently been found about 200 meters away from the crime scene, alleging that Japan harmed Chinese children during World War II. Images of this graffiti have circulated on an instant messaging app.
On Monday, Nikkei reporters visited the graffiti site but found no visible markings, though evidence of removal was present. As the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, some Japanese are worried about a rise in anti-Japanese sentiments.
According to officials from Japanese schools and consulates, the number of students at all 11 Japanese schools in mainland China has decreased this year. As of spring this year, the student population stood at 3,226, a decline of 11% from the previous fiscal year 2024. According to data from a Japanese overseas education service agency, this is the first decline since 2020 (the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak).
Tetsuro Motoma, Executive Vice President of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the Japan-China Business Council, attributed the decrease in the student population at Japanese schools to Japanese individuals who do not bring their families with them or who send their families back to Japan.
On June 17, Motoma told Nikkei reporters: “The anxiety of Japanese living in China has not been completely dispelled.”
According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of October 1, 2024, there were a total of 97,538 Japanese citizens residing in China for three months or longer. This figure decreased by 4% compared to the previous year, falling below 100,000 for the first time in 20 years.
Safety concerns and changes in the business environment are cited as reasons for the decrease in the number of Japanese citizens in China.