BEIJING (AP) -- Old wounds amplified outrage over a burning territorial dispute Tuesday as thousands of Chinese protested Tokyo's purchase of islands claimed by Beijing and marked the 81st anniversary of a Japanese invasion that China has never forgotten.
China marks every Sept. 18 by blowing sirens to remember a 1931 incident that Japan used as a pretext to invade Manchuria, setting off a brutal occupation of China that ended only at the close of World War II. Demonstrations are not routine, but this year, as Chinese fume over last week's Japanese purchase of long-contested islands in the East China Sea, they spread across the country.
Outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, thousands of protesters shouted patriotic slogans and demanded boycotts of Japanese goods. Some burned Japanese flags and threw apples, water bottles and eggs at the embassy, which was heavily guarded by three layers of paramilitary police and metal barricades.
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A Chinese paramilitary policeman wipes his face while standing guard with his comrades during a protest against Japan in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. The 81st anniversary of a Japanese invasion brought a fresh wave of anti-Japan demonstrations in China on Tuesday, with thousands of protesters venting anger over the colonial past and a current dispute involving contested islands in the East China Sea. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese paramilitary policemen stand in line next to a group of onlookers during a protest against Japan in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese paramilitary policemen march in line to take position during a protest against Japan in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese paramilitary policemen stand in formation during an anti-Japanese protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
A group of demonstrators is surrounded by uniformed policemen and paramilitary policemen during a protest against Japan in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese paramilitary policemen stand in line as onlookers watch a protest against Japan from the windows of a building in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese protesters wave national flags and a paper with the words "Never forget National Shame" as they chant anti-Japan slogans in front of a line of policemen during a protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
A man holds a piece of paper as he chants an anti-Japan slogan in front of a line of Chinese paramilitary policemen during a protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
A policeman uses a loud speaker to ask the crowds to disband during an anti-Japan protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
A policeman uses a loud speaker to ask a crowd to disband while protesters hold images they claim showing Japanese imperial army soldiers who killed Chinese during World War II at an anti-Japan protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese demonstrators waves national flags and a paper claiming to show an image of a woman killed by Japanese imperial soldiers during World War II while chanting anti-Japanese slogans in front of a line of Chinese paramilitary policemen during a protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
A plainclothes policeman arrests a Chinese demonstrator during an anti-Japanese protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese demonstrators hold national flags as they chant anti-Japan slogans during a protest on a street in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese demonstrators wave national and Communist Party flags in front of a People's Hero statue on display at a park during a protest against Japan, in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
A Chinese demonstrator holds a national flag in front of a People's Hero statue on display at a park during a protest against Japan in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Chinese demonstrators wave national flags in front of a people's hero statue in a park during an anti-Japanese protest in Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan province Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Anti-Japan protesters throw water bottles towards the Japanese Embassy while marching on a street outside the embassy in Beijing Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Alexander F. Yuan
A young child draped in a Chinese national flag sits on a man's shoulders during an anti-Japan protest near the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Ng Han Guan
A Chinese woman drags a Japanese flag on the ground as she follows a group holding up Chinese flags during a protest march towards the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Ng Han Guan
Chinese protesters burn a Japanese flag near posters claiming Diaoyu islands, as known in China and Senkaku in Japan, belong to China and to fire upon Japan during a protest near the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012. AP / Ng Han Guan
Paramilitary police officers stand guard during anti-Japan protests near the Japanese Consulate General Tuesday Sept. 18, 2012 in Shanghai, China. AP / Eugene Hoshiko
A woman walks past paramilitary police officers standing guard during anti-Japan protests near the Japanese Consulate General Tuesday Sept. 18, 2012 in Shanghai, China. AP / Eugene Hoshiko
One of Chinese protesters shout anti-Japan slogan in front of the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, China, Sunday Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Eugene Hoshiko
Chinese protesters march as paramilitary police officers move to position in front of the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, China, Sunday Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Eugene Hoshiko
Chinese protesters are stopped near the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, China, Sunday Sept. 16, 2012. Security personnel outnumbered the crowds of Chinese protesting against Japan outside its embassy on Sunday, a day after demonstrations over islands that both nations claim spread across China and turned violent. Japan's leader said the dispute was affecting the safety of Japanese citizens in China. AP /
Police use water cannon to disperse anti-Japan protesters who gathered outside Shenzhen city's Communist Party headquarters, in southern China's Guangdong province, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP /
In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012, Chinese police in anti-riot gear use their shields to block projectiles thrown at them during anti-Japan protests outside the city headquarters of the Communist Party of China in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong province. AP /
Riot police use teargas during a protest against Japan in Shenzhen, China Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. Protesters in China began another day of demonstrations against Japan, after protests over disputed islands spread across numerous cities and at times turned violent. AP /
A Chinese demonstrator throws a flower pot to the riot policemen during a protest against Japan in Shenzhen, China Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP /
Chinese demonstrators raise national flags as they confront riot policemen during a protest against Japan in Shenzhen, China Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP /
Chinese protesters march with a national flag and a portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong near the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Ng Han Guan
Chinese protesters march under a large national flag near the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Ng Han Guan
An anti-Japan protester, green shirt, argues with policemen during a protest outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
A female demonstrator dressed in a traditional costume holds a picture of late Communist leader Mao Zedong march together with others during an anti-Japan protest outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Andy Wong
Anti-Japan protesters throw eggs towards the Japanese Embassy as a crowd of protesters march with portraits of the late Communist leader Mao Zedong, Chinese national flags, and banners in Beijing Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Alexander F. Yuan
Anti-Japan protesters hold portraits of the late Communist leader Mao Zedong, wave Chinese national flags and banners as they march outside Japanese Embassy, guarded by paramilitary police in riot suits, in Beijing, China, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Alexander F. Yuan
A paramilitary policeman smells splattered egg on a tissue as he helps wipe egg taints for his comrade while anti-Japan protesters march and throw items towards the heavily-guarded Japanese Embassy in Beijing Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Alexander F. Yuan
A paramilitary policeman holds his shield covered with splattered eggs near items thrown by anti-Japan protesters as he guards an entrance of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, China, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. AP / Alexander F. Yuan
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