Angry protesters shun Japanese businesses in China over Diaoyus

"I'm going home," said Naohito Sato, a Japanese entrepreneur based in Shanghai for 10 years, who feels the anti-Japanese sentiment now sweeping China is more than just fiery rhetoric.

"I think it's totally different from the previous rows between the two countries," said Sato. "I have made up my mind to go home. China is no longer a good market for Japanese companies."

A nationwide boycott against Japanese brands since the territorial dispute between the two Asian giants escalated in September has caused numerous companies to either suspend or slash production on the mainland.

Sato, a 40-year-old who speaks fluent Putonghua, has an agency serving several major Japanese companies operating on the mainland. Back in September he was set to open a Japanese-food restaurant in Shanghai's bustling Hongqiao area when all hell broke loose.

Chinese protesters took to the streets of mainland cities in fury at Japan's purchase of three islets in the Diaoyu Islands, which are at the heart of a territorial dispute between the two countries.

In nationalistic fervour, Japanese cars were smashed and Japanese restaurants attacked. Anti-Japan slogans were chanted at mass demonstrations amid calls to stop buying Japanese goods.