A man ripped a Japanese flag from a car carrying Japan’s ambassador in Beijing on Monday, triggering a protest from Tokyo in the latest flare-up of a territorial row that provoked the worst anti-Japanese protests in years.
The Japanese embassy issued a statement saying the ambassador, Uichiro Niwa, was unhurt in the incident. It said two other vehicles forced his car to stop and a man got out, broke off the Japanese flag and made off with it.
But Japan’s Foreign Ministry later said the flag had been snatched after the ambassador’s car had become stuck in a traffic jam. A ministry spokesman said it would be too strong to describe the incident as an attack.
Both Japanese accounts said no one was injured and the car was otherwise undamaged.
The embassy said it had “filed a strong protest with the Chinese Foreign Ministry”. It said that in response a senior ministry official called the incident “extremely regrettable” and pledged efforts to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and businesses in China.
The incident comes after renewed tensions in recent months over disputed islands known as the Diaoyus in China and the Senkakus in Japan.