Protests over Diaoyu islands turn violent outside Japanese embassy

Protests against Japan's claim to disputed islands in the East China Sea swept China yesterday. Some turned violent, with protesters throwing rocks and bottles at the Japanese embassy in Beijing and clashing with paramilitary police.

More than 2,000 people gathered in front of the embassy, with many trying to break through a metal police barricade only to be pushed back by riot police.

Hundreds of police officers were deployed and roads around the embassy were cordoned off. Helicopters flew overhead, monitoring the situation below.

The rally was the biggest since the Japanese government announced last week it was buying the Diaoyu Islands, which Tokyo calls the Senkakus, from their private owner.

Beijing has roundly rejected the move as an illegal encroachment on its territory, and public anger on the mainland towards Japan has been rising.

The demonstration, though, was much smaller than a protest in 2005, sparked in part by revisions to Japanese history textbooks, which drew more than 10,000 people. But many expect a higher turnout for another rally planned for Tuesday to commemorate the Japanese invasion of China in 1931.

Protesters in Beijing waved the Chinese national flag and chanted "Diaoyu Islands belong to China" and "Down with Japan".