Japanese Companies Allowing Workers to Leave China after Fatal Stabbing

Beijing, Sept. 19 (Jiji Press)--Some Japanese companies are beginning to allow their expatriate employees in China to temporarily return home after Wednesday's fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in the country sent a shockwave through them.

The latest stabbing, which happened in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, southern China, followed an assault in June that left a Japanese woman and her child injured and a Chinese woman dead in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, eastern China.

"Safety and security are the basic conditions for doing business," a senior official of a major manufacturer with a base in Beijing said in an angry tone. "We cannot ignore the fact that Japanese citizens have been targeted successively."

The manufacturer is considering returning family members of its expatriates to Japan temporarily.

Panasonic Holdings Corp. has decided to allow Japanese employees to return home temporarily and cover related expenses not only for them but also for their family members. It plans to launch a counseling service for its employees over the latest incident.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]