Man stabs 11-year-old girl at school in Japan

TOKYO, July 20 (Reuters) A mentally ill man stabbed an 11-year-old girl at the gate of her elementary school in northern Japan today and seriously injured her, reviving concerns over child safety despite tighter security at schools.

Many Japanese schools stepped up security after a man stabbed eight children to death in a killing spree at a school six years ago and a schoolgirl stabbed a classmate in 2004.

Police arrested a 56-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder for today's attack in Oosato town in Miyagi prefecture, some 300 km (186.4 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

The man had been treated for mental illness for the past 30 years, a police official said.

The girl, who was on her way to school to attend the closing ceremony for the semester ahead of summer holidays, was undergoing an operation but was conscious, the official added.

REUTERS RL VV0824