Xi Jinping hesitates to draw double-edged sword of anti-Japan protests

 

 Xi Jinping hesitates to draw double-edged sword of anti-Japan protests

China is furious at Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for bringing up a possible Taiwan contingency earlier this month. But so far no major anti-Japan protest has taken place. This week's China Up Close explores the reason behind the relatively calm reaction inside China. In 2012, huge demonstrations by Chinese citizens erupted after Japan nationalized the Senkaku Islands, a group of small uninhabited islets that China claims as part of its territory.

The Chinese economy was booming 13 years ago, and the government was confident in its ability to control the protests. But now the country is facing a negative wealth effect and high youth unemployment. If President Xi Jinping's administration were to tolerate anti-Japan demonstrations, they could spread across the country and spin out of control with protesters also venting their pent-up frustrations over the Chinese economy.

At the time of the Senkaku Islands hubbub, the Japanese and Chinese leaders had not met for two and a half years. Now, as China takes countermeasures to limit economic and other exchanges with Japan, the question is how long the neighbors will be locked in confrontation.