Chinese anti-Japan protests rage on invasion anniversary

Many companies closed as the 81st anniversary of the Japanese invasion acted as a focus for a fresh wave of protests over the contested islands in the East China Sea.

Emotions were running high on the streets as news filtered out that two Japanese activists had landed on an island at the centre of the dispute.

The Chinese government moved swiftly to describe the landing as provocative, lodged a complaint with Tokyo and said that it reserved the right to "take further action.

"The unlawful landing of Japanese right-wingers on the Chinese territory of the Diaoyu islands was a gravely provocative action violating Chinese territorial sovereignty," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei warned.

The nationalist activists briefly landed on one of the islands, having paddled up to it in a raft and swum ashore.

Japan's embassy in Beijing again came under siege by protesters hurling water bottles, waving Chinese flags and chanting anti-Japan slogans.

The embassy was ringed by riot police six rows deep.

Japan's foreign ministry said that some embassy windows had been smashed.

Protests sprung up in other major cities including Shanghai, where many Japanese shops and restaurants had either closed or covered any Japan-brand signs.

Clothing retailer Uniqlo closed some of its outlets but opened its huge flagship store on Shanghai's main shopping street by early afternoon.

Toyota would not reveal which of its factories were closed, adding that employee safety was the priority.

A Toyota dealership in Qingdao was burned and others had display models damaged.

Honda said all five of its plants in China would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Its dealerships have been damaged in recent protests.

Kobe Steel had shut four of its plants, said spokesman Gary Tsuchida. "As a precautionary measure, we decided it would be better to cool things," he said.

Sony said it had suspended production at two factories.

foreigneditor@peoples-press.com