Two Japanese Injured in Stabbing at Shanghai Restaurant; Witness Calls it 'Most Terrifying Moment of My Life'
A stabbing incident occurred yesterday at a Japanese restaurant in Shanghai, China, injuring three people, including two Japanese nationals. The two Japanese victims have been confirmed as employees of the Mori Building Group and are not in life-threatening condition. The sudden attack has caused unease within the local Japanese expatriate community. The suspect is a 59-year-old Chinese man with a history of mental illness; the motive is currently unknown. A witness described the event as 'the most terrifying moment of my life.'
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- 📰 Published: May 20, 2026 at 23:49
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A stabbing incident occurred yesterday at a Japanese restaurant in Shanghai, China, leaving three people injured, including two Japanese nationals. The two Japanese individuals have been confirmed as employees of the Mori Building Group and are currently not in life-threatening condition. However, the sudden attack has sparked unease within the local Japanese expatriate community.
The incident took place inside a skyscraper operated by Mori Building in Shanghai's financial district, at a restaurant frequented by many Japanese people working nearby. According to local police and the Japanese Consulate-General in Shanghai, the event happened during the lunch peak yesterday. A 59-year-old Chinese man, armed with a fruit knife, burst into the Japanese restaurant on the third floor of the commercial building in Shanghai's financial street and randomly attacked two Japanese nationals and one Chinese person.
Police later arrested the man, noting that his speech was incoherent, his behavior was strange, and he had a history of treatment for mental illness. A detailed motive has not yet been released.
The Mori Building Group confirmed today during a press conference for its new president that two of the three injured were company employees.
According to Japan's Fuji News Network (FNN), Mori Building President Shingo Tsuji stated, "A total of three people were injured, including two of our company's employees. This is a very painful incident. I express my sincere sympathies to the victims and wholeheartedly wish for their speedy recovery."
The building where the incident occurred is one of Shanghai's landmarks, standing 101 stories tall. In addition to a hotel and commercial facilities, it houses numerous Japanese-affiliated companies.
A Japanese man who was dining in the restaurant at the time told Nippon TV that the restaurant was about 90% full, with a roughly equal mix of Japanese and Chinese customers. He was dining with a colleague in a private room separated by sliding doors when he suddenly heard horrific screams and the sound of things falling, realizing an attack was underway.
He stated, "I saw the armed attacker outside through the gap under the door. I wanted to escape immediately, but the suspect stopped near our private room door, and we couldn't get out."
The man recalled that he and his colleague could only hold the sliding door shut and hide behind a table. "If he had really forced his way in, the only thing we could have probably done was to flip the table."
He said that before the suspect was subdued, he could only see through the door gap that the person was shaking his leg incessantly, looking quite agitated. "I couldn't see his face, but his leg was constantly shaking."
He described the weapon as "looking a bit larger than a fruit knife, but smaller than a regular kitchen knife, feeling like something between a sashimi knife and a common kitchen knife."
The man also witnessed one of the injured Japanese individuals sitting on the ground, pressing on his abdomen to stop the bleeding, and realized the victim was an acquaintance of his.
He said, "He was sitting against the wall, and he gave me a slight nod when he saw me. I think he was still conscious and recognized me." He observed the wound was on the abdomen, "not like a long slash, but more like a single puncture wound."
The interviewee also mentioned that the suspect offered almost no resistance when he was subdued. "After the building's security guard came over with a riot fork, he was pinned down. The police arrived later."
This Japanese man, who had just been posted to Shanghai this April, admitted that this was "the most terrifying experience of my life."
He said, "Normally, I don't really feel that Shanghai is dangerous; it feels about the same as living in Japan. Although it's still unknown whether this crime was targeted at Japanese people, this incident has made me realize again that living here is, after all, different from living in Japan, and I can't let my guard down on basic safety awareness."
The incident took place inside a skyscraper operated by Mori Building in Shanghai's financial district, at a restaurant frequented by many Japanese people working nearby. According to local police and the Japanese Consulate-General in Shanghai, the event happened during the lunch peak yesterday. A 59-year-old Chinese man, armed with a fruit knife, burst into the Japanese restaurant on the third floor of the commercial building in Shanghai's financial street and randomly attacked two Japanese nationals and one Chinese person.
Police later arrested the man, noting that his speech was incoherent, his behavior was strange, and he had a history of treatment for mental illness. A detailed motive has not yet been released.
The Mori Building Group confirmed today during a press conference for its new president that two of the three injured were company employees.
According to Japan's Fuji News Network (FNN), Mori Building President Shingo Tsuji stated, "A total of three people were injured, including two of our company's employees. This is a very painful incident. I express my sincere sympathies to the victims and wholeheartedly wish for their speedy recovery."
The building where the incident occurred is one of Shanghai's landmarks, standing 101 stories tall. In addition to a hotel and commercial facilities, it houses numerous Japanese-affiliated companies.
A Japanese man who was dining in the restaurant at the time told Nippon TV that the restaurant was about 90% full, with a roughly equal mix of Japanese and Chinese customers. He was dining with a colleague in a private room separated by sliding doors when he suddenly heard horrific screams and the sound of things falling, realizing an attack was underway.
He stated, "I saw the armed attacker outside through the gap under the door. I wanted to escape immediately, but the suspect stopped near our private room door, and we couldn't get out."
The man recalled that he and his colleague could only hold the sliding door shut and hide behind a table. "If he had really forced his way in, the only thing we could have probably done was to flip the table."
He said that before the suspect was subdued, he could only see through the door gap that the person was shaking his leg incessantly, looking quite agitated. "I couldn't see his face, but his leg was constantly shaking."
He described the weapon as "looking a bit larger than a fruit knife, but smaller than a regular kitchen knife, feeling like something between a sashimi knife and a common kitchen knife."
The man also witnessed one of the injured Japanese individuals sitting on the ground, pressing on his abdomen to stop the bleeding, and realized the victim was an acquaintance of his.
He said, "He was sitting against the wall, and he gave me a slight nod when he saw me. I think he was still conscious and recognized me." He observed the wound was on the abdomen, "not like a long slash, but more like a single puncture wound."
The interviewee also mentioned that the suspect offered almost no resistance when he was subdued. "After the building's security guard came over with a riot fork, he was pinned down. The police arrived later."
This Japanese man, who had just been posted to Shanghai this April, admitted that this was "the most terrifying experience of my life."
He said, "Normally, I don't really feel that Shanghai is dangerous; it feels about the same as living in Japan. Although it's still unknown whether this crime was targeted at Japanese people, this incident has made me realize again that living here is, after all, different from living in Japan, and I can't let my guard down on basic safety awareness."