Japan's ambassador to Beijing has asked for more security for Japanese nationals in China after a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed this week in a knife attack that was the second to target school students.

Some Japanese companies in China have offered to send their staff and their families back home after a 10-year-old Japanese boy was fatally stabbed in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, a Japanese executive and employees of Japanese firms in Beijing said on Friday.

China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged on Friday, despite growing expectations for a cut after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s larger-than-expected interest rate reduction earlier this week.

Chinese banks maintained their benchmark lending rates for September, as policymakers hold off on further monetary stimulus while financial institutions struggle with record-low profit margins.

China unexpectedly left benchmark lending rates unchanged at the monthly fixing on Friday, despite the Federal Reserve delivering an outsized interest rate cut earlier this week. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.