Abe calls for strengthened security after school children stabbed

Condoling the stabbing incident which targetted school children in Kawasaki, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday called for strengthened security to protect children travelling to school every day.

Outlining that the safety of children is a priority, he held a meeting with Education Minister Masahiko Shibayama and National Public Safety Commission chair Junzo Yamamoto following the attack, which claimed the lives of two people, including a schoolgirl.

"It is a very painful incident and I feel a strong resentment that young children were affected. I pray for the deceased people and sincerely express my condolences to the bereaved," Abe tweeted in Japanese.

"We have to protect the safety of our children. Earlier, we instructed related ministers to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of children when they go to school," he added.

The other victim who lost his life has been identified as a 39-year-old man, suspected to be the father of one of the children at the site of the incident.

Apart from the two deceased, at least 16 people were injured in the mass stabbing which targeted a group of elementary school children at a bus-stop here on Tuesday morning.

The suspect, believed to be from Kawasaki City itself, stabbed himself in the neck and was unconscious when the police reached the scene. He later died in the hospital, according to state broadcaster NHK.

Two knives were recovered from the site of the incident. The case is being investigated as a murder.