Beijing Rally Targets Japan's Leader

BEIJING, Aug. 15 -- As uniformed and plainclothes police looked on, Chinese protesters incensed at the Japanese prime minister for visiting a controversial war shrine gathered Tuesday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, chanting "Down with Japanese imperialism!" and "An eye for an eye, blood for blood!"

The demonstration followed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's trip earlier Tuesday to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors Japan's war dead, including 14 officers judged as World War II criminals. He had made visits to the shrine before but never on such a symbolic date, the anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned the visit in a statement, but it also restated China's commitment to peaceful coexistence with Japan. The demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy appeared small and lasted only 20 minutes. Taken together, the statement and the protest represented a response far more muted than in years past, when Koizumi's visits to the shrine set off widespread anger among the Chinese public.

"On the one hand, the Chinese government is strongly against the visit. On the other hand, the government is strongly controlling the emotions of the anti-Japanese protesters. They will not allow what happened last year to happen again," said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at People's University in Beijing. "The protests last year had some negative effects. It wasn't good for stability inside China, and it wasn't good for the relationship between China and Japan. We can solve many problems without protesting."

Many Chinese, as well as Koreans, say Japan has glorified its militaristic past. During Tuesday's demonstration, about 30 protesters unfurled a red banner offering congratulations "on the 61st anniversary of Japan's fascist surrender!" A protester then read aloud a letter.

"Listen, Prime Minister Koizumi, we are Chinese citizens. Today, we are coming to protest your sixth visit to the Yasukuni shrine, which severely endangers the relationship between China and Japan," the protester said through a bullhorn. "Chinese do not expect war, but we are not afraid of war. If you really want to put China into war, we will have the honor to keep you company until the end."

Ma Yan, 32, a clerk with an architecture and design company, said she asked for the morning off to join the protest. "Prime Minister Koizumi is challenging the justice of human society," said Ma, who has protested at the embassy two or three times before.

Zhang Tianle, who sells electrical instruments, said he heard about Koizumi's visit while watching a Hong Kong-based television news program. He called a few friends to join him in protesting.

"What we are doing now is good for the development of the relationship between China and Japan," Zhang said. "I have a lot of Japanese friends, and we are quite harmonious as individuals. But when it comes to ideology, people's emotions and historic problems, the two nations are far apart."

Researcher Jiang Fei contributed to this report.