Shanghai restaurant knife attack injures 3, including 2 Japanese. China calls it isolated incident

BEIJING — A knife attack at a restaurant in Shanghai injured three people, including two Japanese citizens, the Chinese foreign ministry said Wednesday, calling it an isolated case.

The ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Chinese authorities were investigating Tuesday's attack and that the suspect, whom he described as a person with a mental disorder, had been detained. The two Japanese citizens, alongside a Chinese citizen, were sent to the hospital for treatment, he added.

“I would also like to stress that the media outlets and individuals should not make groundless speculation or unwarranted associations,” Guo told reporters at a news briefing.

The attack occurred amid 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.

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