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Island dispute

Although anger surrounding the island issue appears to have reached a whole new level, tensions have been building up for weeks. Protesters and governments have been gradually ratcheting up the hosility.

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The survey ship Koyo Maru, left, chartered by Tokyo city officials, sails around Minamikojima, foreground, Kitakojima, middle right, and Uotsuri, background, the tiny islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. Tokyo city officials planning to buy the islands at the center of a longtime territorial dispute with China surveyed the area Sunday on a visit meant to send a message of ownership. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE — Japan China Inselgruppe SenkakuImage: AP

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Although anger surrounding the island issue appears to have reached a whole new level, tensions have been building up for weeks. Protesters and governments have been gradually ratcheting up the hosility.

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Reports & Analysis

Chinese demonstrators protest outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing, China, Photo: EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL

Chinese demonstrators protest outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing, China, Photo: EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL

Motives behind China protests

Observers say anti-Japanese protests in China have been organized by the government.

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Row over disputed islands escalates

Japanese nationalists have raised their country's flag on islands claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing, provoking anger in China. Last week, Japan arrested a group of Chinese activists for a similar stunt.

Fishing boats are seen departing from Shenjiawan port in Zhoushan toward the East China Sea fishing grounds (photo: REUTERS/Stringer)

Fishing boats are seen departing from Shenjiawan port in Zhoushan toward the East China Sea fishing grounds (photo: REUTERS/Stringer)

China sends ships to islands

Chinese ships have entered waters surrounding the disputed islands. Media have also reported a flotilla of about 1,000 Chinese fishing boats en route to the area and further anti-Japan protests in China.

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China Japan Island Tensions Rise

Fresh anti Japan protests have errupted across China. Tensions between the two countries show no signs of easing. At the heart of the dispute is a series of islands in the waters between China and Japan.

A crowded Tokyo street; Photo: EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA

A crowded Tokyo street; Photo: EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA

Troubled times

Chinese living in Japan say life for them is ok despite the spat between Beijing and Tokyo.

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China and Japan Dispute Island Group

A dispute over an uninhabited group of islands may disrupt trade relations between Japan and China.

Riot police fire tear gas at protesters outside the city headquarters of Communist Party of China during an anti-Japan protest in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong province 16 September 2012. Protests across several Chinese cities continued, in the country's ongoing row with Japan over disputed islands in the South China Sea. In the capital, Beijing, several thousand people, mostly young, carried Chinese flags and images of Mao in front of the Japanese embassy. Police were seen in heavy numbers. The demonstrators called on Japan to withdraw from the islands. The dispute between the two countries escalated on Friday when six Chinese ships began patrolling the waters around the islands. (Photo: EPA/LAN QING CHINA OUT)

Riot police fire tear gas at protesters outside the city headquarters of Communist Party of China during an anti-Japan protest in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong province 16 September 2012. Protests across several Chinese cities continued, in the country's ongoing row with Japan over disputed islands in the South China Sea. In the capital, Beijing, several thousand people, mostly young, carried Chinese flags and images of Mao in front of the Japanese embassy. Police were seen in heavy numbers. The demonstrators called on Japan to withdraw from the islands. The dispute between the two countries escalated on Friday when six Chinese ships began patrolling the waters around the islands. (Photo: EPA/LAN QING CHINA OUT)

Japanese firms stop work in China

Escalating anti-Tokyo protests in China have prompted some Japanese firms to suspend factory operations there. Anti-Japanese sentiment exploded last week over a territorial dispute between the two countries.

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Japanese Firms Hit by China Row

Panasonic and Canon are shutting down factories in China, after a row over disputed islands sparked violent protests across China.

Chinese demonstrators carry national flags and portraits of Mao Zedong during a protest over the islands in Wuhan. Photo: AFP/AFP/GettyImages)

Chinese demonstrators carry national flags and portraits of Mao Zedong during a protest over the islands in Wuhan. Photo: AFP/AFP/GettyImages)

Chinese protest over islands

China has declared successful its recent naval patrol of disputed islands claimed by Japan, after a second day of anti-Japanese protests. The mass protests, rare in China, were overseen by police squads.

A man tries to climb over police lines during an anti-Japanese protest over the Diaoyu islands issue, known as the Senkaku islands in Japanese, outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on September 15, 2012.

A man tries to climb over police lines during an anti-Japanese protest over the Diaoyu islands issue, known as the Senkaku islands in Japanese, outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on September 15, 2012.

Anti-Japan riot in China

Anti-Japan protests have broken out across China, with thousands of people mobbing the Japanese embassy in Beijing. Tensions between the two countries have risen over a disputed chain of islands in the East China Sea.

A protester demonstrating against Japan's claim to disputed islands holds a picture of the rocky islands, known as Senkaku to Japanese and Diaoyu to Chinese, reading "Diaoyu belongs to China" in front of a Chinese national flag during a rally outside the Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012. A territorial flare-up between China and Japan intensified Tuesday as Beijing sent patrol ships near the disputed East China Sea islands in a show of anger over Tokyo's purchase of the largely barren outcroppings from their private owners. (Foto:Kin Cheung/AP/dapd)

A protester demonstrating against Japan's claim to disputed islands holds a picture of the rocky islands, known as Senkaku to Japanese and Diaoyu to Chinese, reading "Diaoyu belongs to China" in front of a Chinese national flag during a rally outside the Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012. A territorial flare-up between China and Japan intensified Tuesday as Beijing sent patrol ships near the disputed East China Sea islands in a show of anger over Tokyo's purchase of the largely barren outcroppings from their private owners. (Foto:Kin Cheung/AP/dapd)

Chinese patrol waters

Six Chinese surveillance vessels began patrolling the waters near a group of disputed islands under Japanese control on Friday, raising tensions between Asia's two biggest economies.

The survey ship Koyo Maru, left, chartered by Tokyo city officials, sails around Minamikojima, foreground, Kitakojima, middle right, and Uotsuri, background, the tiny islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, Photo/Kyodo News

The survey ship Koyo Maru, left, chartered by Tokyo city officials, sails around Minamikojima, foreground, Kitakojima, middle right, and Uotsuri, background, the tiny islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, Photo/Kyodo News

Wave of nationalism

Rising nationalism in China and Japan is fueling the dispute between China and Japan.

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