Thousands protest against Japan's 'island purchase'

BEIJING - Protests against Japanese government's move to "purchase" and "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands continued outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Friday.

Protesters started to gather in front of the embassy compound in the morning. By 6 pm, more than 5,000 people including wheel-chaired elderly and kids had taken part in the protests.

Police told the protesters in advance to be rational in their protests.

Also on Friday, about 100 people protested against Japan in Tengchong, a city in the southwestern province of Yunnan, while attending a public memorial for soldiers killed during the anti-Japanese war in the 1940s.

The protestors waved China's national flags and shouted slogans including "Do not forget national humiliation, safeguard sovereignty, and Diaoyu Islands are China's territory."

During the anti-Japanese war, Japanese forces occupied Tengchong for two years and committed appalling crimes there.