A 10-year-old boy enrolled in a Japanese school in Shenzhen has died after being stabbed by an assailant on Wednesday, the Japanese government said.

The boy was stabbed on his way to school at about 8 am on Wednesday by the suspected 44-year-old assailant, who was arrested on the spot, according to mainland authorities.

He died in the early hours of Thursday, Japanese foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa told reporters on Thursday.

"I take the incident extremely seriously," Kamikawa said.

"This should never happen in any country. Particularly, I sincerely regret that this despicable act was committed against a child on his way to school."

Japan has asked China to provide a detailed explanation of the facts and to take strong safety measures, she added.

On Wednesday at a regular news conference in Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China would continue to take effective measures to protect the safety of all foreigners in China.

The attack took place near the school on the anniversary of an incident in 1931 that marked the start of Japan’s invasion of China.

It was the second such attack near a Japanese educational facility in China in recent months.

In June, a man attacked a bus used by a Japanese school in the eastern city of Suzhou, resulting in the death of a Chinese national who tried to shield a Japanese mother and her child from the assailant. (Reuters)