In case you live under a rock or the American news outlets are still too busy talking about Kate Middleton's topless photos to report actual news, there has been some pretty intense anti-Japanese protesting and rioting going on in China these past few days.
The protests turned riots began due to a dispute about some tiny, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. When Japan purchased the islands from a private owner last week, the Chinese got pissed. Apparently the area is thought to be rich in oil deposits. The ownership of these islands has been disputed for quite some time, but not much has been done about it because China and Japan do a great deal of commerce.
All over China Japanese owned businesses and Japanese branded items (like Toyota), and Japanese restaurants have been boycotted, mobbed, and even burned down. Nothing says, "'Those islands are ours!' like burning down a Toyota dealership." I've noticed some anti-Japanese sentiment (left over from WW2) since I've moved to China but not like this. Thankfully, I have been isolated from the protesting and rioting here in the village, but I have seen some of the effects.
Today, some of my more charming students decided that they were going to create tiny Japanese flags and stick them to the backs of their friends to make fun of them. Lovely. The biggest insult you can think of today is to call your friend Japanese.
It's best for me as a foreigner to just play dumb and stay out of it, but it's a bizarre thing to witness.
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