Thousands turned up in Beijing, Shenzhen and other cities to vent their anger towards Japan. The protests were fueled by Tokyo’s push for a permanent seat at the United Nation’s Security Council and the publishing of history textbooks whitewashing Japan’s military past.

Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura lodged a formal protest and sought an apology for the anti-Japanese rallies in China.

The rallies saw “A series of vandalism incidents on not only the Japanese Embassy and the ambassador’s residence, but also Japanese firms,” Machimura told reporters after meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Tokyo Wang Yi.

The Chinese leadership has always been heavy handed in cracking down on gatherings, however the current violent anti-Japanese outburst suggests that this is supported by the communist regime.

Despite criticism of Japan’s military history, China’s leadership is not apologetic about its own violent pasts of the last 55 years. Up to 80 million have died under communist rule

Japanese corporations have invested $US 9.2 billion into China in 2004. Hence, with such financial ties at stake the Chinese Government cannot afford to be offending the Japanese at such a public manner.