A 10-year-old Japanese student attending a Japanese school in southern China has died in a stabbing, officials in Tokyo have said.

The Japanese government asked Beijing to provide details of the attack and take preventive measures.

A suspect is in custody.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa expressed condolences and said it was “extremely regrettable” the student died despite requests for caution and enhanced safety around the time of the anniversary of the start of Japan’s invasion of China in the 1930s.

Ms Kamikawa said she also instructed Japanese schools in China to review their safety measures, and requested China to provide details of the attack and do its utmost to prevent a recurrence of similar attacks on the Japanese.

The student was stabbed by a man about 200 metres from the gate of the Shenzhen Japanese School, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian said in a daily briefing.

“The attacker was arrested on site. The case is still being further investigated,” Mr Lin said.

The motive for the attack in the city of Shenzhen is not yet clear.

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.

On June 24th, a knife attack at a school bus stop for a Japanese school in the south-eastern city of Suzhou killed a Chinese national who was trying to stop the attacker and injured a Japanese mother and her child.

Earlier in June, a Chinese man stabbed four US university instructors at a public park in Jilin in the north-east as well as a Chinese person who tried to intervene.

The four instructors from Cornell College were teaching at Beihua University.

Their injuries were not critical.