Japanese embassy in China issues warning after citizens attacked in restaurant, AFP says

TOKYO (TR) – Japan’s embassy in China reissued a warning to its citizens there to show caution after four Japanese nationals were assaulted at a restaurant in Shanghai last week, Agence France-Presse said, citing diplomatic sources.

The four and a Chinese colleague who worked at the same Japanese company were attacked on Thursday after a group of people first asked their nationality, according to the news agency. The Chinese colleague purportedly suffered a knife cut in the incident, AFP reported, citing a Japanese diplomat.

The embassy’s warning urged its nationals to refrain from speaking Japanese in public and avoid crowded places. Chinese police say they arrested several people over the weekend in connection to the assault.

Tensions are high between the two Asian neighbors who are embroiled in a territorial dispute over a group of uninhabited islands claimed by both in the East China Sea. Chinese protesters angered over the recently-reignited dispute targeted Japanese owned businesses, including the consulate in Shanghai, in September, which also prompted an embassy warning.

Source: AFP

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Posted by Michael Blaskoski on October 17, 2012. Filed under National. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry