Japanese firms shut China plants, China pledges to protect Japanese citizens, property after protests

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Japanese firms shut China plants, US urges calm in islands row
Major Japanese firms have shuttered factories in China and urged expatriate workers on Monday to stay indoors after angry protests flared over a territorial dispute that threatened to hurt trade ties between Asia's two biggest economies.

China's worst outbreak of anti-Japan sentiment in decades led to weekend protests and violent attacks on well-known Japanese businesses such as car-makers Toyota and Honda, forcing frightened expatriates into hiding and prompting Chinese state media to warn that trade relations could now be in jeopardy.

China and Japan, which generated two-way trade of US$345 billion (S$421 billion) last year, are arguing over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea, a long-standing dispute that erupted last week when the Japanese government decided to buy some of them from a private Japanese owner.

The move, which infuriated Beijing, was intended by Japan's government to fend off what it feared would be seen as an even more provocative plan by the nationalist governor of Tokyo to buy and build facilities on the islands.

In response, China sent six surveillance ships to the area, which contains potentially large gas reserves. On Monday, a flotilla of around 1,000 Chinese fishing boats were sailing for the islands and was due to reach them later in the day, the state-owned People's Daily said on its microblog.

Japan has warned its citizens about large-scale protests in China on Tuesday. Many Japanese schools across China, including in Beijing and Shanghai, have cancelled classes this week.

China pledges to protect Japanese citizens, property after protests
China pledged on Monday to protect Japanese citizens and property and urged anti-Japan protesters to express themselves in an "orderly, rational and lawful" way after mass demonstrations in scores of Chinese cities.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a daily briefing that it was up to Japan to correct its ways and the direction of developments was now in Japan's hands.

Protests against Japan broke out on Saturday, following mounting tensions over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo.