Thousands of Chinese protesters hurled bottles and eggs outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing over the weekend amid growing tensions between the two nations over a group of disputed islands . Waving Chinese national flags and holding portraits of the late Chairman Mao Zedong , the mostly young protesters chanted `` down with Japanese imperialism '' and called for war as they made their way down the streets under the watchful eyes of police and guards . Elsewhere in China , anti-Japanese rallies broke out in dozens of cities and sometimes turned violent . Messages and photos posted on Chinese social media sites showed angry mobs in numerous cities ransacking Japanese stores and restaurants as well as smashing and burning cars of Japanese make . Japanese media also reported incidents of assault on Japanese nationals in China in the past few days . A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman insisted Friday that the public anger was not aimed at the Japanese people , whose safety would be protected in China according to law . Authorities rarely permit protests in China , prompting suspicion that Saturday 's nationwide rallies were government-sanctioned . In Beijing , police walking along the demonstrators were seen to ask spectators to join in instead of blocking the street . By Saturday night , China 's state-run media had started appealing for restraint , running commentaries that condemned violence and lectured the public on the true meaning of patriotism . In a sign of rising concern over the gathering of large crowds , authorities in cities that had seen the most ferocious protests canceled entertainment and sporting events . Asian islands dispute : Who claims what ? Tensions escalated Friday when Chinese maritime surveillance ships ignored warnings from Japan and briefly entered waters around the group of islands at the center of the heated territorial dispute . The ships arrived near the uninhabited islands -- which Japan calls Senkaku and China calls Diaoyu -- and began patrols and `` law enforcement , '' China 's state-run news agency Xinhua reported . Economic consequences of island spat . The islands , situated in the East China Sea between Okinawa and Taiwan , are under Japanese control , but China claims they have been a part of its territory for ages . The long-running argument over who has sovereignty has triggered protests in both nations . The United States , a key ally of Japan , has repeatedly urged Tokyo and Beijing to resolve the dispute through dialogue . U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will meet with his counterparts in Japan and China this weekend , the Department of Defense said Thursday . Chinese vessels had all left the waters by Friday afternoon and headed north , the Japanese Coast Guard said . Japan said it will intensify patrols of the area . The controversial Chinese move to begin patrols around the islands follows Japan 's purchase of several of the islands from a private owner this week . China described the deal as `` illegal and invalid . '' Animosity between the two countries over the islands runs deep . They have come to represent what many Chinese see as unfinished business : redressing the impact of the Japanese occupation of large swathes of eastern China during the 1930s and 1940s . China says its claim goes back hundreds of years . Japan says it saw no trace of Chinese control of the islands in an 1885 survey , so formally recognized them as Japanese sovereign territory in 1895 . Japan then sold the islands in 1932 to descendants of the original settlers . The Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945 only served to cloud the issue further . The islands were administered by the U.S. occupation force after the war . But in 1972 , Washington returned them to Japan as part of its withdrawal from Okinawa .
Chinese ships briefly enter waters around the group of islands . Tensions between Japan and China are high over the disputed islands . Japan controls the islands , but China claims they are part of its territory .