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The friction between China and Japan is certainly intensifying. There's been a lot of posturing over the Senkaku islands recently with "private individuals" from both countries claiming them for their own countries. It's reached a point where the Japanese PM has called for restraint after riot police were needed to control protesters. There have also been reports of attacks on Japanese nationals.
Nationalism in both countries is rising in lock step with their problems it seems.
These protests against foreigners are a clear sign that the economy is unravelling in China. The Japanese are the first target (memories of WW2 and anti-Japan sentiment are easily stirred up the Govt ). When an Apple store is targeted we'll know TSHHTF and I would not want to be an outsider or run a business in such a monocultural, nationalistic country when that happens.
Nationalism in both countries is rising in lock step with their problems it seems.
These protests against foreigners are a clear sign that the economy is unravelling in China. The Japanese are the first target (memories of WW2 and anti-Japan sentiment are easily stirred up the Govt ). When an Apple store is targeted we'll know TSHHTF and I would not want to be an outsider or run a business in such a monocultural, nationalistic country when that happens.
Beijing (CNN) -- Thousands of Chinese protesters hurled bottles and eggs outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Saturday amid growing tensions between the two nations over a group of disputed islands.
Waving Chinese national flags and holding portraits of the late Chairman Mao Zedong, the mostly young protesters chanted "down with Japanese imperialism" and called for war as they made their way down the streets under the watchful eyes of police and guards.
Elsewhere in China, anti-Japanese rallies broke out in dozens of cities and sometimes turned violent. Messages and photos posted on Chinese social media sites showed angry mobs in numerous cities ransacking Japanese stores and restaurants as well as smashing and burning cars of Japanese make.
Japanese media also reported incidents of assault on Japanese nationals in China in the past few days. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman insisted Friday that the public anger was not aimed at the Japanese people, whose safety would be protected in China according to law.
Authorities rarely permit protests in China, prompting suspicion that Saturday's nationwide rallies were government-sanctioned. In Beijing, police walking along the demonstrators were seen to ask spectators to join in instead of blocking the street.
By Saturday night, China's state-run media had started appealing for restraint, running commentaries that condemned violence and lectured the public on the true meaning of patriotism. In a sign of rising concern over the gathering of large crowds, authorities in cities that had seen the most ferocious protests canceled entertainment and sporting events.
Waving Chinese national flags and holding portraits of the late Chairman Mao Zedong, the mostly young protesters chanted "down with Japanese imperialism" and called for war as they made their way down the streets under the watchful eyes of police and guards.
Elsewhere in China, anti-Japanese rallies broke out in dozens of cities and sometimes turned violent. Messages and photos posted on Chinese social media sites showed angry mobs in numerous cities ransacking Japanese stores and restaurants as well as smashing and burning cars of Japanese make.
Japanese media also reported incidents of assault on Japanese nationals in China in the past few days. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman insisted Friday that the public anger was not aimed at the Japanese people, whose safety would be protected in China according to law.
Authorities rarely permit protests in China, prompting suspicion that Saturday's nationwide rallies were government-sanctioned. In Beijing, police walking along the demonstrators were seen to ask spectators to join in instead of blocking the street.
By Saturday night, China's state-run media had started appealing for restraint, running commentaries that condemned violence and lectured the public on the true meaning of patriotism. In a sign of rising concern over the gathering of large crowds, authorities in cities that had seen the most ferocious protests canceled entertainment and sporting events.
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