Japanese businesses suspend operations over China protests

Staff at a Canon Inc plant in the southern city of Zhoushan, Guangdong province, were given Monday and Tuesday off following protests in dozens of Chinese cities over the Japanese government's purchase of three disputed islets last week, an employee said.

 

"The notice said we have got a two-day vacation and will start work on the 19th," the Canon employee said, adding that staff were told the vacation was given "because of some internal affairs."   An employee at a Panasonic Corp factory in the nearby city of Zhuhai said staff were also told to take a vacation until Wednesday.

 

The Panasonic employee, who identified herself only by the surname Liao, said some Chinese workers at the factory had taken strike action over the ownership of the islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.

 

"About a dozen Chinese workers staged a strike, mainly for theDiaoyu Islands," Liao said. "You know, we are all angry about that," she said. Japanese media said Canon suspended operations at two other plants in China on Monday.

 

State media said Japanese retailer Muji had suspended sales atseveral stores in Beijing, while many other Japanese-linked shops and restaurants in the city were closed on Monday.

 

Attacks on Japanese-brand cars and Japanese-linked shops and restaurants were reported in Beijing and several other cities overthe weekend.

 

In an apparent effort to rein in the protests, police and state media on Monday urged demonstrators to behave "rationally" and lawfully, and avoid attacks on Japanese citizens and property