17 Sep 2012

Protests force Panasonic to suspend China operations

9:24 pm on 17 September 2012

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic has suspended some of its operations in China, after protesters attacked two of its factories.

The attacks are a part of wider protests across China after Japan said it had agreed to buy a chain of disputed islands in East China Sea from their Japanese owner, the BBC reports.

China claims sovereignty over the uninhabited but resource-rich islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.

After Tokyo said it was purchasing the islands, thousands of protesters took to the streets, burning Japanese flags and targeting Japanese-made cars.