Anti-Japan protests flare across China

TOKYO - Scores of Japanese-owned factories and stores in China were shuttered Tuesday as anti-Japan demonstrations erupted in dozens of cities.

At stake are billions of dollars in investments and far more in sales and trade between Japan and China, the world's third- and second-largest economies. The two are so closely entwined that both would suffer from any long-term disruptions.

While Chinese authorities appeared to be moving to clamp down on the protests, the Japanese government has been urging Beijing to do more to protect Japanese businesses from trespassing, looting and other damage, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters.

"Japanese companies play an important role in the Chinese economy and employment. We believe we should be calm and make rational judgments from a broad perspective," Fujimura said. Some private and government-level meetings and events have been postponed or cancelled, he said.

Big name brands and retailers appeared to be suffering the brunt of the latest mass outburst of anti-Japanese sentiment, with companies in lower profile sectors less affected.

Many companies said they closed Tuesday as the 81st anniversary of a Japanese invasion brought a fresh wave of protests venting anger over the colonial past and a current dispute involving contested islands in the East China Sea.

Pain from the protests was being felt in Tokyo, too, where business has slowed for shopkeepers catering to Chinese tourists.

"It makes me wonder how Japan will emerge from this," 20-year-old Yui Watanabe said of the protests. "We just really need to be level-headed," she said.

In Shanghai, many of the Japanese-owned or oriented shops and restaurants in the western part of the city where the Japanese consulate is located had either closed or covered any Japan-brand signs.

Uniqlo, Asia's biggest clothing retailer, had closed some outlets but opened its huge flagship store on Shanghai's main Nanjing Road shopping street by the early afternoon. Amid calls for a boycott of Japanese products, the popular store was busy with shoppers.

Despite rancor over the territorial dispute, trade between the two countries has been thriving. Total trade rose 14 percent to $344.9 billion in 2011, setting a record, according to the Japan External Trade Organization. Japanese help run China's high-speed train lines and aid from Tokyo helped build much of the country's modern infrastructure, including its Pudong international airport in Shanghai.

Still, many employees of Japanese retailers, automakers and other companies were staying home Tuesday as thousands of anti-Japanese protesters marched in Beijing. Many companies were wary of speaking in too much detail about the situation.

Toyota Motor Corp. would not reveal which or how many of its factories were closed, saying it was up to each affiliate or subsidiary to decide. Employee safety was the priority, it said in a company statement.

A Toyota dealership in Qingdao was burned and others had display models damaged, though there were no reports of injuries at the company's factories or dealerships.

Honda Motor Corp. said all five of its assembly plants in China were closed Tuesday and Wednesday, mainly to adjust production due to the impact of the anti-Japanese backlash on sales.