Anti-Japan protests continue across China

BEIJING

A damaged Japanese car is seen during a protest against Japan’s island move. AFP photo

Thousands of anti-Japan demonstrators mounted protests in Chinese cities for a second day yesterday over disputed islands in the East China Sea, with Japan’s prime minister urging Beijing to protect his country’s companies and diplomatic buildings.

Beijing was infuriated last week when Japan announced it had bought the rocky outcrops. In Beijing, thousands of protesters gathered outside the Japanese embassy, throwing beer bottles and golf balls and singing the national anthem, Agence France-Presse reported. But large numbers of police escorted the protesters as they marched back and forth past the building.

Demonstrators in Shenzhen clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. More than 1,000 protesters burnt Japanese flags in the nearby southern city of Guangzhou and storming a hotel next to the Japanese consulate.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda called on China to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and businesses. The row over the islands, which Tokyo administers and calls Senkaku while Beijing claims them and knows them as Diaoyu, has heightened in recent weeks.