Things seemed to calm down somewhat on April 19, with both sides cautiously urging citizens to back off, and the Japanese government warning that anti-Chinese protests would be dealt with strictly.
In China, a nationalist web site, which had earlier lauded the protests, noted that, 'We oppose the Japanese right-wingers and the politicians that support them, not the Japanese people. The Japanese people are our friends and brothers in arms.'
On April 22, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi tendered a public apology for Japan's war crimes while addressing leaders of a hundred Asian and African countries, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, gathered in Jakarta for an Asian-African Conference.
But China was quick to note that the apology came even as over 80 Japanese lawmakers, including a cabinet minister, went ahead with their visit to the controversial Yasukuni shrine.
A Shinto priest leads Japanese lawmakers during a visit to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine on April 22.
Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
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