Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters at a press conference that the court ruled that the attack was an “intentional murder” and that the penalty was given because of “significant social implications.”
However, the court made no mention of Japan during the verdict, according to Hayashi, who added that officials from the Japanese consulate in Shanghai attended the sentencing.
Hayashi added that the crime, which killed and injured “innocent people”, including a child, was “absolutely unforgivable”.
He also paid tribute to Chinese bus attendant Hu Yuping, who was killed by Chow while protecting a Japanese mother and her child.
The attack, along with another stabbing that killed a Japanese schoolboy in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen last year, sparked concern in the local Japanese community.
Earlier on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning briefly commented at a daily press conference that the case was “under judicial proceedings,” adding that China “as always, will not allow foreign nationals to enter China.” will act for safety.”
China is grappling with a rise in public violence, with many attackers believed to be motivated by a desire to “take revenge on society” – where criminals act on personal grudges by attacking strangers. .
There were 19 assaults on pedestrians or strangers last year, a single-digit increase from previous years.
On Monday, a man who killed at least 35 people in what is believed to be the country’s deadliest attack in a decade died.
Last month, a man who stabbed eight people to death at his university was sentenced to death.
Additionally, in December, a man who drove a car into a crowd of children and parents outside a primary school, injuring 30 people, was given a suspended death sentence.
