Japanese Carmakers Suspend Production in China

Japan's biggest automakers are idling some factories in China this week for fear that anti-Japanese protests could spread to their own workers.

Antagonism has been intensifying in recent weeks after the flare-up of a longstanding dispute about the control of the uninhabited Senkaku island chain in the East China Sea.

Protesters in Beijing marched on the Japanese embassy last weekend, burning the country's flags and smashing Japanese-brand cars. Honda and Toyota say arsonists damaged their dealerships in the eastern city of Qingdao.

Honda plans to idle five Chinese factories on Tuesday and Wednesday. Mazda says it will suspend production at its joint venture car plant in Nanjing from Tuesday through Friday. Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors also have halted work at some facilities.

Companies worry that tensions may run especially high on Sept. 18, the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion of Manchuria.

The China Automobile Dealers Assn. says many dealerships that sell Japanese brands are closed after some stores were vandalized.

Other Japanese manufacturers and retailers are taking similar precautions. Some companies are urging their Japanese nationals not to go out alone or speak their native language loudly in public, The Nikkei reports.

The newspaper says Panasonic Corp. suspended work at factories in three provinces after some employees shouted anti-Japanese slogans and destroyed equipment on Saturday.