LD: Anti-Japan protests occur for 2nd day, China gov't urges restraint

BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Kyodo) - Anti-Japan demonstrations took place for a second day in China despite its government's call for restraint, with protesters throwing stones at a Japanese restaurant, breaking windows of Japanese-model cars and clashing with police in the western province of Sichuan.
The government had earlier Sunday urged the public to express patriotism
rationally and in accordance with the law in the wake of Saturday's violent
protests against Japan that involved altogether over 10,000 people, the largest
since April 2005,
''Patriotism should be expressed rationally and in line with law. We don't
agree with irrational actions that violate laws and regulations,'' Foreign
Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement reported by the official
Xinhua News Agency.
At the same time, he said it is ''understandable that some people expressed
their outrage against the recent erroneous words and deeds on the Japanese
side.''
Ma said Beijing prefers to resolve its problems with Japan ''through dialogues
and making joint efforts to safeguard the strategic bilateral relationship of
mutual benefit.''
The current row between the two countries stems from Japan's arrest of a
Chinese fishing boat captain near the Japanese-administered islands claimed by
China after a Sept. 7 collision between his trawler and pursuing Japanese Coast
Guard patrol boats. He has since been released.
Radio and Television Hong Kong reported that protesters in the Sichuan city of
Mianyang disregarded the government's call for restraint and clashed with
police on Sunday afternoon. They threw rocks at a Japanese restaurant and broke
windows of Japanese cars, the radio report said.
A Honda dealership in the city confirmed the violent protest and said that car
windows had indeed been smashed. There were also reports that stores carrying
Japanese-brand merchandise were attacked.
On Saturday, crowds estimated at over 10,000 people in total had taken to the
streets in at least three cities -- Chengdu, Xian and Zhengzhou -- to protest
against Japan's control of the disputed Senkaku Islands, known in China as the
Diaoyu Islands.
Stores run by Japanese retailers Ito-Yokado and Isetan were attacked in
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, breaking windows and shattering showcases.
Mizuno and Sony retail stores in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, were badly
damaged.
On Sunday, Ito-Yokada reopened its Chendgu supermarket for business under tight
security provided by dozens of black-clad special police deployed to keep
order.
The Japanese Embassy in Beijing said that a Japan Week event which was to have
been held from next Friday in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, has
been postponed, while officials of a city in Japan's Chiba Prefecture canceled
a trip to Xian by 40 local schoolchildren over safety concerns.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman's comment about ''recent erroneous words
and deeds on the Japanese side'' apparently referred to a series of hawkish
remarks made by Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and Yukio Edano, an executive of
the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, over recent the developments.
Edano said in a speech in early October that such developments have provided Japanese an opportunity to think anew about how they should associate with Japan's ''bad neighbor.''
On Saturday, Ma voiced China's concern over a demonstration by Japanese right-wingers at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo earlier that same day, while calling on Japan to fulfill its diplomatic obligation to ensure the security of the embassy and Chinese consulates.