SAPPORO -- A 12-year-old junior high school student has been held by police here since Nov. 26 for misdemeanor attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed a woman in the back on her way home, it has been learned.

Hokkaido Prefectural Police have sent a report to the Sapporo children's consultation center over the matter. The boy allegedly stabbed a local woman in her 20s in the back with a kitchen knife on Nov. 25 at roughly 6 p.m. The incident occurred in a residential area with public housing and a large supermarket near Sakaemachi Station on the Toho Line of the municipal subway in Sapporo's Kita Ward.

After being stabbed, the woman appealed for help from a passerby and was rushed to the hospital. She suffered serious injuries that are expected to take one to two months to heal. None of her belongings were taken. The woman said, "I was stabbed by an unknown man," and police were investigating the incident as a possible random street slashing.

On the security camera of a nearby supermarket there was footage of a suspicious person following the woman. The student was identified from the video and questioned by police. A case containing the knife was also reportedly discovered at his residence. According to police, the boy said he felt he wanted to cause someone harm.

After the incident, the nearby junior high school had canceled club activities after 4 p.m., and the elementary school had decided on Nov. 27 to have teachers watch over students as they commuted to and from school, for the time being.