Toyota, Canon and Panasonic order temporary shutdowns at Chinese factories over fears of attacks by anti-Japan protesters
Japanese companies Toyota, Honda, Canon, Mazda and Panasonic have all temporarily closed factories in China over fears of attacks by anti-Japan protesters.
Honda and Toyota have already suffered violent attacks after angry protests flared across the country, the result of a territorial dispute that has triggered one of China’s worst outbreaks of anti-Japan sentiment in decades.
The row over a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea has forced frightened expatriates into hiding sending relations between Asia’s two biggest economies into crisis.
Protests: A paramilitary policeman holds his shield covered with splattered eggs near items thrown by anti-Japan protesters as he guards an entrance of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing
Ratcheting up tensions further today, Chinese state media warned Japan it could suffer another ‘lost decade’ if trade ties soured.
China is Japan's biggest trade partner and Japan is China's third largest. Any harm to business and investment ties would be bad for both economies at a time when China faces a slowdown. Japan exported more than $340billion last year to China.
Protests broke out across dozens of Chinese cities at the weekend, some violent, in response to the Japanese government's decision last week to buy some of the disputed islands from a private Japanese owner. The move incensed Beijing.
The protests focused mainly on Japanese diplomatic missions but also targeted shops, restaurants and car dealerships in at least five cities. Toyota and Honda reported arson attacks had badly damaged their stores in Qingdao.
Dispute: The damaged facade of an Aeon store in Qingdao, Shandong Province
Electronics firm Canon will stop production at three of its four Chinese factories today and Tuesday, citing concerns over employees’ safety.
Mazda will halt production at its Nanjing factory for four days.
Qingdao police announced on the internet today they had arrested a number of people suspected of ‘disrupted social order’ during the protests, apparently referring to the attacks on Japanese-operated factories and shops there.
Japanese electronics group Panasonic said one of its plants had been sabotaged by Chinese workers and would remain closed through Tuesday -- a memorial day in China when it marks the anniversary of Japan's 1931 occupation of parts of mainland China.
Tokyo has warned its citizens about large-scale protests in China on Tuesday.
The dispute over the islands -- called the Senkaku by Japan and the Diaoyu by China -- intensified last week when China sent six surveillance ships to the area, which contains potentially large gas reserves, in response to Japan's purchase.
Unrest: A demonstrator shouts with a Chinese flag in front of riot police during a protest against Japan's decision to purchase disputed islands
Meanwhile U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to file a new trade complaint against China, claiming that its ‘illegal subsidies’ in the car sector totalled £600million between 2009 and 2011.
Legally subsidising exports of cars and car parts was forcing U.S. manufacturers to shift production overseas, a White House official claimed.
‘The key principal at stake is that China must play by the rules of the global trading system,’ said a White House official.
The oil-rich islands in the East China sea are the cause of the violent dispute between China and Japan
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