China warns citizens on anti-Japan protests

China warned its people against staging fresh protests when Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura visits at the weekend to head off a...

China warned its people against staging fresh protests when Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura visits at the weekend to head off a repeat of last week’s violent anti-Japanese demonstrations.

Foreign missions, wary of possible violence after demonstrators threw rocks and eggs at Japanese diplomatic missions and attacked some Japanese businesses last week, cautioned their citizens about possible new protests.

The demonstrations, triggered by what many see as Japan’s failure to own up to World War II atrocities, come at a time when Japan is seeking a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, a move that China firmly opposes.

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While last weekend’s protests appeared to have tacit state approval, the government appealed to demonstrators to avoid ‘‘extreme activities’’ and on Friday, Beijing police warned against ‘‘unapproved or harmful’’ activities. ‘‘Any assemblies, protests and demonstrations should be approved by the public security organ,’’ a Beijing police spokesman said. Unapproved and harmful activities were ‘‘illegal’’ and would be punished.

For its part, Japan pledged not to let a series of disputes with China hinder their broader relationship. ‘‘We must deepen mutual understanding and trust through dialogue and not allow individual issues to become an obstacle to the development of the overall Japan-China relationship,’’ the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in an annual diplomatic report.

Machimura flies to Beijing on Sunday to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to try to stop squabbles over everything from gas exploration in disputed waters to Japan’s treatment of its own history from escalating or hurting $178 billion in trade. —Reuters