In 2024, two cases of Japanese individuals being attacked in China sparked concerns over anti-Japanese sentiments in Chinese society, causing a diplomatic uproar. On January 24th, the case of a Japanese child being fatally stabbed in Shenzhen was brought to trial at the Intermediate People’s Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, with the 45-year-old defendant, Zhong Changchun, being sentenced to death.
According to reports from Japanese media outlets such as Kyodo News and Yomiuri Shimbun, the defendant Zhong Changchun purchased a knife to murder a child in order to attract attention online. After committing the crime, he even made phone calls to the media in an attempt to gain further attention. The Japanese Ambassador to China, Konji Kanegi, disclosed this information to the media in Beijing.
During the trial, the defendant expressed a desire to speak to the family of the victim and the Japanese Embassy in China. The case was concluded and sentenced on the same day, which is unusual for a murder trial and seemingly meant to demonstrate a strict stance on the matter.
It remains unclear when Zhong Changchun will be executed. As of the evening of the 24th, the Japanese side had not received any news of an appeal from the defendant. The trial was open to the public, but over a dozen media outlets present were not allowed to sit in for the trial, with only the Japanese Consul-General in Guangzhou, Yoshiko Ikushima, permitted to observe. Additionally, surrounding the courthouse was tight security, with police setting up cordons outside, plainclothes patrols several meters away, and a helicopter hovering overhead. There were no crowds gathered outside the courthouse.
This is the second criminal case against Japanese individuals in China this week that the Chinese Communist Party courts have tried and sentenced. On the 23rd, the Intermediate People’s Court in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, sentenced the male defendant, Zhou Jiasheng, in the case of the intentional murder of a Japanese mother and son, to death. Reports indicate that neither case explicitly mentioned Japan.
After the trial, the Chinese authorities did not release information regarding the trials and verdicts of the two cases. Reports of the verdict in the Suzhou case involving the Japanese mother and son were taken down shortly after being cited by the Chinese financial news website Caixin based on Japanese media reports. Posts related to this matter by Chinese netizens on social media were also removed consecutively.
The Japanese government has yet to comment on the judgment from the Shenzhen court. On the 24th, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Yoshimasa Hayashi, when addressing the Suzhou court’s judgment, stated that criminal behavior should not be tolerated and that Japan views this verdict with seriousness, strongly urging China to ensure the safety of Japanese expatriates in China.