Canadian police Thursday identified a man fatally stabbed in Vancouver in the early hours of Wednesday as 32-year-old Wataru Kakiuchi from Japan.
The Consulate-General of Japan in Vancouver confirmed Kakiuchi, who lived in Burnaby in greater Vancouver, to be a Japanese national. After being alerted by the police of the stabbing, the consulate-general contacted his family.
Kakiuchi was stabbed near Vancouver's Chinatown around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. He was declared dead while being transported to hospital.
Kakiuchi worked at an izakaya Japanese-style bar in the city.
"This senseless act of violence has our city in shock and mourning," Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement Thursday. "He was a positive presence and a cherished friend to many."
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