A 10-year-old boy enrolled in a Japanese school in China’s Shenzhen city has died after being stabbed by a 44-year-old man, according to officials in both countries.

Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa said the child, who was attacked about 200m (220 yards) from the gate of the Shenzhen Japanese School on Wednesday morning, died in the early hours of Thursday.

The boy’s father is a Japanese citizen, while his mother is a Chinese citizen, said Lin Jian, spokesman of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He told a news briefing on Thursday that the attack was an “individual” case and that “China and Japan are in communication on the case”.

“I take the incident extremely seriously,” Kamikawa said. “This should never happen in any country. Particularly, I sincerely regret that this despicable act was committed against a child on their way to school.”

Japan has asked China to provide a detailed explanation of the facts, she added.

Lin said earlier that the suspected attacker was arrested at the scene and an investigation was under way.

A woman lays a bouquet of flowers outside the Shenzhen Japanese School, on September 19 [David Kirton/Reuters]

Kamikawa also said it was “extremely regrettable” that the student died despite requests for caution and enhanced safety around the time of the anniversary of an incident in 1931 that triggered war between China and Japan.

The “Mukden incident” led to Japan’s invasion of Manchuria.

“China expresses its regret and sadness that this kind of unfortunate incident occurred,” Lin said.

He told reporters that “similar cases could happen in any country”, adding that “China has always taken and will continue to take effective actions to ensure the safety of all foreign citizens in China”.

Previous attacks

In an email sent to Japanese citizens living in China, the Japanese embassy warned residents to be vigilant and take precautions, citing knife attacks in recent months.

The Japanese consulate in Guangzhou, which is responsible for Shenzhen, called for measures to prevent such incidents.

It was the second such attack near a Japanese educational facility in China recently.

On June 24, a man attacked a bus used by a Japanese school in the eastern city of Suzhou, resulting in the death of a Chinese national who tried to shield a Japanese mother and her child from the attacker.

Earlier in June, a Chinese man stabbed four United States university instructors at a public park in Jilin in the northeast and a Chinese person who tried to intervene. The four instructors from Cornell College were teaching at Beihua University. Their injuries were not critical.