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BEIJING - A JAPANESE embassy staffer was wounded by a knife-wielding man in Beijing in an attack police said was not linked to the victim's nationality, an embassy official said on Friday.
'On Thursday at about noon, an embassy staff member was assaulted by a young Chinese man,' an embassy spokesman told AFP.
'The guy attacked our embassy staff member with a knife, but our staff member escaped and the guy was arrested by armed police.'
The incident occurred in Beijing's diplomatic district near the Japanese embassy, an area in which many foreigners live and work and where a large contingent of Chinese armed police are stationed to guard diplomatic missions.
The unnamed 27-year-old male staffer was hospitalised with a slight wound, the spokesman said.
China periodically sees public outbursts over current or historical grievances with Japan, which invaded China in the 1930s and brutally occupied it through World War II.
They normally take the form of political protests rather than physical attacks on Japanese.
The embassy spokesman told AFP that police have said the victim's nationality was not a factor in the attack.
But the spokesman added the embassy had requested China provide enhanced security for Japanese there.
'Through diplomatic channels, the Chinese side expressed regret and said that the police were investigating the motives behind the attack.'
Beijing police said they believed the attacker was mentally ill, he said.
The attack occurred as security in Beijing has been ramped up significantly ahead of next month's Olympic Games. -- AFP
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