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Shanghai restaurant knife attack injures 2 Japanese citizens and a Chinese national

BEIJING (AP) — A knife attack at a restaurant in Shanghai on Tuesday injured three people, including two Japanese citizens and a Chinese national, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, calling it an isolated case.

The suspect described as a person with a mental disorder was detained and the victims were taken to a hospital for treatment, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Wednesday.

The two Japanese are men, including a senior employee of a Japanese company with an office in the building where the attack occurred, while the Chinese citizen is a woman, and the Japanese consulate in the city said the injuries of both men are not life-threatening, Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Wednesday his government has extended support for the injured men, adding that Japan demanded a thorough investigation and a clear explanation by Chinese officials, severe punishment for the suspect, preventive measures and the protection of Japanese nationals in China.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry issued a safety advisory for Japanese citizens in China to be cautious and attentive, avoid going out alone and take care when accompanying children.

Guo of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said authorities were investigating and media outlets and others should not make “groundless speculation” about the case.

The attack comes at a time of rising tensions between China and Japan.

Ties between Beijing and Tokyo have been strained since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment in November that any Chinese military action against self-ruled Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response. China imposed diplomatic and economic measures against Japan.

The Chinese Embassy in Japan said in April it had received multiple threats and accused Japanese authorities of failing to take effective measures despite repeated reports to the police.

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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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