Diplomats Pass the Blame for Rising Tension in Asia

BEIJING — Japan's foreign minister traveled to Beijing on Sunday to protest anti-Japan demonstrations that have sharply raised tensions between the two Asian powerhouses, but China refused to apologize.

"The Chinese government has never done anything that wronged the Japanese people," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told his counterpart, Nobutaka Machimura. Li blamed the tension on Japan.

The exchange came as protests gripped China for a third weekend over Japan's approval of a textbook that Beijing says whitewashes Tokyo's aggression in WWII. Other grievances include Japan's effort to gain a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, competition for natural gas in the East China Sea and Tokyo's decision to help Washington defend Taiwan.

As many as 20,000 people marched through China's financial capital of Shanghai on Saturday. Hundreds of police looked on as the crowd hurled paint balls and tomatoes at the Japanese consulate, shattering windows and attacking Japanese businesses and cars.

On Sunday, more protests broke out across the country, including in Dongguan, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou in the south, Chengdu in central China and Shenyang in the northeast. But they were smaller and more peaceful.

Tokyo denounced the demonstrations and demanded that Beijing protect Japanese citizens and diplomatic facilities.

"I wish the Chinese government would sincerely handle this matter under international regulations," Machimura said.

Chinese officials have denied that they have anything to do with the protests, which they say are a spontaneous expression of public outrage.

Japan's demand that Beijing apologize and provide compensation for the damage is unlikely to sit well with the Chinese, who say Tokyo has never sincerely owned up to the crimes it committed during World War II.

"If Machimura is only here to complain and get even, he's not going to solve anything," said Pang Zhongying, an international affairs expert at Nankai University in Tianjin, China. "He should find out why the Chinese people are angry at Japan and try to increase understanding and dialogue. Otherwise relations between the two countries could only get worse."

However, there also are signs that Beijing is trying to lower the temperature for fear the protests might set off unrest directed at the Communist Party.