China and Japan at loggerheads
■ The diplomatic crisis between China and Japan stepped up to new levels yesterday, disrupting trade and even sporting relations. The two Asian giants have been at loggerheads over the island chain known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, after Japan bought the islands from a Japanese family. Destructive protests – which forced many Japanese multinationals and retailers to close down their Chinese operations – continued yesterday, which was the 81st anniversary of the Mukden Incident, the pretext for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Yesterday protestors laid siege to the Japanese embassy, holding banners with slogans such as “Wipe out all Japanese dogs” – but Chinese riot police protected the building in lines six-deep.