Japanese automakers are facing unprecedented tension in China as extreme protests have erupted from a serious land dispute that sparked last month after the Japanese government announced a ¥2.05 billion bid for the uninhabited Senkaku islets.
A claimed territory of Japan, The People's Republic of China, and Taiwan, Japan's announcement has caused tensions to rise over the Pacific. The Foreign Ministry of Taiwan called Japan's action an "extremely unfriendly move that not only harms the longtime cooperation between Taiwan and Japan but will also aggravate regional tensions in East Asia."
Regarded as the Diaoyu Islands by the Chinese, extremely hostile anti-Japan demonstrations are currently being held across China. In fact, Jalopnik even reported that a photo taken from an Audi dealership in China displayed a deeply disturbing banner that stated, "Even if graves cover our land, all Japanese must be killed. Even if our soil is not fit for growing crops anymore, we must get back the Diaoyo Islands."
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The origin of the photo is unknown but it's not too far off of the mark in terms of Chinese sentiment. Protests in China caused violent riots, even setting fires and damaging buildings of Japanese businesses established across China. Left with no choice, Honda, Mazda, and Nissan, have suspended its operations in China. Toyota still intends to continue to keep its plants running but the company is facing mounting pressure as well.
Arsonists have already been reported to damage Toyota and Honda dealerships in the city of Qingdao over the weekend.
Already weakened by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last year, the Japanese automakers now face an even more challenging obstacle -- severe opposition from the world's biggest car market.
In 2011, China ranked as Japan's number one export market, trading a staggering $194.6 billion worth of goods in the nation. However, if the backlash caused by the territorial conflict don't get resolved, then economists worry that Japan might stand to take an even greater loss than the damages caused by natural disasters last year.
