Japan Embassy, Businesses Bunker Down, More China Protests Expected
* Japanese embassy in Beijing suspends passport services
* Some 1,000 Chinese boats expected to arrive in waters near disputed islands
* Japan Coast Guard patrol ships may clash with fishing boats
Hundreds of Japanese businesses and the country’s embassy suspended services in China on Tuesday, expecting further escalation in violent protests over a territorial dispute between Asia’s two biggest economies.
China’s worst outbreak of anti-Japan sentiment in decades led to protests and attacks on Japanese companies such as car makers Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co, forcing them to halt operations and prompting Chinese state media to warn that trade relations could deteriorate.
More protests are expected across China on Tuesday, which marks the anniversary of Japan’s 1931 occupation of parts of mainland China.
Hundreds of protesters had gathered outside Japan’s embassy again on Tuesday, some throwing water bottles at the building, which was protected by a heavy police presence, Reuters witnesses said.
Japan was also bolstering its defences around the disputed East China Sea islands after state media reported a flotilla of around 1,000 Chinese fishing boats was sailing towards them.