Japan’s Panasonic shuts China plant amid protests over disputed islands in East China Sea

Beijing - Japanese electronics giant Panasonic has temporarily shut down its plant in China amid tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
 
Panasonic said that one of its plants had been sabotaged, and would remain closed throughout Monday and Tuesday.

According to The Telegraph, over the weekend, smoke and flames were reported coming from Panasonic’s plant in Qingdao, with car maker Toyota also reporting that an auto dealership in the same port city was damaged.
 
Toyota said, however, that its offices and factories were operating as usual in China on Monday.
 
According to the report, protests flared across China in response to the Japanese Government's decision to buy a number of disputed islands in the East China Sea from a private Japanese owner, incensing Beijing.
 
The move sparked protests in China, which focused mainly on Japanese diplomatic missions, but also targeted shops, restaurants and car dealerships in at least five cities.
 
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who met visiting US defence secretary Leon Panetta on Monday, urged Beijing to ensure Japan's people and property were protected.
 
According to the report, Panetta said the United State would stand by its security treaty obligations to Japan, but not take sides in the row, and urged both sides to exercise calm and restraint.
 
"It is in everybody's interest ... for Japan and China to maintain good relations and to find a way to avoid further escalation," he said.