A 10-year-old boy attending a Japanese school in southern China has died after being stabbed on his way to class on Wednesday, according to Tokyo’s foreign minister, in the second knife attack near a Japanese school in the country in recent months.

While the motivation of the assailant remained unclear, Japanese officials have urged increased security around Japanese schools in China.

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.

The attack on the 10-year-old boy was the second such incident in months amid a social-media campaign that has stirred up anti-Japan sentiment in China.

A 10-year-old student at a Japanese school in China died Thursday after being stabbed on the way to school the day before, Japanese officials said.