Toyota, Sony and Toshiba warn staff in China to be on alert after Japanese boy is stabbed in Shenzhen

Toyota Motor Corp. warned staff in China to be on alert in accordance with embassy guidelines, the automaker told Bloomberg. Manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said it’s spreading awareness of the incident among workers in the country and advising they practice caution. 

Japan’s largest carmakers are “taking various countermeasures,” including the dissemination and sharing of information to employees and among firms, said Masanori Katayama, chair of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. 

Similar steps have been deployed by entertainment giant Sony Group Corp., electronics group Toshiba Corp., cosmetics and household product maker Kao Corp. and Murata Manufacturing Co., an Apple Inc. component maker. 

“We urge the Chinese government to take concrete countermeasures to ensure this does not happen again,” Akihiro Fukutome, president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and chair of the Japanese Bankers Association, said Thursday.

Nissan Motor Co. said it will conduct individual consultations with employees and their families to address any concerns they have about their safety, or the safety of the schools attended by their children.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa earlier confirmed the death of the 10-year-old, who was stabbed on Wednesday in Shenzhen during his commute to school. It was the latest in a series of assaults on foreigners in China in recent months, and was at least the second to involve Japanese citizens in the country. 

The incident could sour corporate ties between the two nations, with the neighbors’ relations already strained on fronts ranging from historical resentments to an ongoing territorial dispute. Some 13,000 Japanese companies are located in China, according to Teikoku Databank. Around 100,000 Japanese nationals lived in the country as of last year, Japan’s foreign ministry said.