BEIJING has angrily protested to the Japanese Government over a shrine erected by a right-wing group on one of the disputed Diaoyu islands.
Xinhua said a wooden shrine, half a metre high, had been erected by the Japan Youth Federation.
Beijing slammed the action as an aggressive move damaging Sino-Japanese relations.
A spokesman for the Japan Youth Federation said the shrine was erected to commemorate villagers who died from hunger on the small unnamed island during World War II.
He said his group would visit the shrine regularly.
Angered by the landing on the disputed Diaoyu Islands by Japanese nationalists, Beijing yesterday blasted what it called a provocative act.
'There is always a force in Japan which tried to use the Diaoyu Islands to disrupt the normal development of Sino-Japanese relations,' Xinhua said.
