BEIJING/TOKYO — On Wednesday, Japan's newly appointed foreign minister raised concerns during his first phone conversation with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi about the recent stabbing attacks on Japanese citizens in China and increased Chinese military activity.

Last month, a 10-year-old boy attending a Japanese school in Shenzhen was fatally stabbed, and in June, a Chinese national was killed while protecting a Japanese mother and child from an attacker who targeted a Japanese school bus in Suzhou. These incidents have heightened worries about anti-Japanese sentiment in China. Beijing, however, described the attacks as isolated and reiterated its commitment to ensuring the safety of all foreign nationals.

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya urged China to enhance measures for protecting Japanese citizens and requested further details about the schoolboy’s case, according to a statement from Japan’s foreign ministry following the call. Both sides agreed to maintain communication on the issue.

Iwaya also expressed serious concerns about increasing Chinese military activity and sought an explanation for an August incident in which a Chinese aircraft breached Japanese airspace—the first such occurrence, according to Japan’s defense ministry.

While Japan’s statement didn’t disclose Wang’s response, Chinese state media reported that Wang appreciated Tokyo's "positive signals" toward improving relations and anticipated progress in Japan-China ties under the new Japanese administration.

Wang emphasized the need to prevent external forces from inciting regional tensions, likely alluding to the United States, a key ally of Japan, and urged Japan to adopt a friendly and objective view of China, according to CCTV.

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