The protesters smashing and burning Japanese businesses in Chinese cities this month are hard to fathom. Even the "peaceful" marchers carried alarming banners, some calling for the annihilation of Japan. For what?
The current fuss is over a few uninhabited outcrops in the East China Sea known as the Diaoyus in China and the Senkakus in Japan, which the U.S. restored to Japanese sovereignty (along with Okinawa) in 1972. Even U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was greeted this month by a small protest outside the Beijing Embassy. This was for the sin of military support for Japan, an American ally, including the announcement that the U.S. would deploy a second X-band radar to Japan for missile defense.
The last widespread outbreak of anti-Japanese violence in China was in 2005. Then as now the question was: To what extent did Beijing orchestrate the protests? The answer isn't entirely clear. Chinese state media initially fanned the flames of hatred but then tried to tamp them down. The police gave the demonstrators free rein but also directed them to go home once they vented their anger.
This dual approach typifies Beijing's attitude. The Communist Party benefits from keeping anti-Japanese feeling simmering, since it derives its historic legitimacy from (supposedly) driving out the Japanese invaders and restoring China to its proper place in the world. But anger against Japan must also be kept within bounds, lest protesters blame China's leaders for not being more assertive with Tokyo.
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