Oulu District Court on Friday remanded a 15-year-old attempted manslaughter suspect into pre-trial custody.
The charge was reduced from attempted murder to attempted manslaughter.
The boy joined the court proceedings remotely from Haukipudas jail along with his attorney and mother.
"He has had very strong feelings against immigrants and a desire to act in some way. This partly stems from following anti-immigrant discussions and broadcasts online," his attorney, Kari Eriksson, told Yle.
The teenager is suspected of stabbing a foreign man at the Valkea shopping centre in downtown Oulu on Tuesday. The victim was completely taken by surprise in the attack.
The suspect has admitted to the act but denied attempting to murder the victim. Eriksson told Yle that his client stabbed the man because of his foreign appearance.
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime as the boy suggested a racist motive for the act. The knife used by the boy was decorated with swastikas and he was wearing a shirt with Nazi-themed text.
Before the act, the boy cycled from his home to downtown Oulu, a distance of several dozen kilometres, carrying a knife with him.
The district court set 11 October as the deadline for filing charges.
The same shopping mall was the site of another stabbing last week, when a 12-year-old of foreign background was injured in an attack.