'Chinese people are so brave' - Japanese internet users praise Chinese student after daring rescue
Tourist Yan Jun saves Japanese boy who fell into Osaka's Yodo river
While Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations may be strained, the daring rescue of a Japanese child by a visiting Chinese tourist has generated considerable praise for “Chinese bravery” in Japan's online community.
About 5pm on Monday, a nine-year-old boy was swept into the waters of Osaka’s Yodo river in southern Japan. Despite heavy rain and strong winds from Typhoon Man-Yi, which is currently passing through Japan, the boy and two older secondary school friends had been taking photographs near the river’s bank.
After accidentally dropping his camera memory card, the boy rushed to retrieve it but fell into the river’s flooded rapids. He was washed nearly 350 metres downstream.
Luckily, a passing Chinese exchange student, Yan Jun, saw the boy and jumped into the water to save him. Yan swam 15 metres to bring the Japanese boy to shore. After the rescue, both Yan and the nine-year-old were taken to hospital and released with minor injuries.
Yan, who had only suffered a few skin abrasions from jumping into the river, told Japanese reporters he had “just done the natural thing”.
“If I hadn’t saved this boy, his life would have been in danger,” Yan reportedly said.