Japan’s prime minister has demanded an explanation from Beijing over the fatal stabbing of a schoolboy in the second knife attack on Japanese children in China in months.

A 10-year-old Japanese student has died one day after he was stabbed near his school in southern China. The boy, who was enrolled at the Shenzhen Japanese School, succumbed to his injuries early on Thursday, Japanese officials said. His assailant, a 44-year-old man surnamed Zhong, was arrested on the spot, local police said.

A child enrolled in a Japanese school in the Chinese city of Shenzhen has died after being stabbed on Wednesday, officials confirmed on Thursday, the second such attack near Japanese educational centres in China in recent months.

Officials in Tokyo said Thursday that a 10-year-old Japanese student attending a Japanese school in southern China who was attacked the day before has died, asking Beijing to provide details of the stabbing and take preventive measures.

In a call with China’s vice-foreign minister Sun Weidong on Thursday, Japan’s ambassador Kenji Kanasugi “strongly urged” Beijing to share detailed information about the incident, which was the second targeted attack on Japanese schoolchildren in China in recent months.

The killing of a Japanese schoolboy in the Chinese city of Shenzhen has sparked worry among Japanese expats living in China, with top firms warning their workers to be vigilant. Toshiba and Toyota have told their staff to take precautions against any possible violence,

Japan's ambassador to Beijing has asked for more security for Japanese nationals in China after a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed this week in a knife attack that was the second to target school students.