Protest lodged over Nagoya consulate attack
(Kyodo)
Updated: 2005-11-22 21:07

China has lodged a protest with Japan over an incident last week in which a self-proclaimed rightist sprayed a fire extinguisher at the Chinese Consulate in Nagoya, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.

China demands a "severe punishment" for the man who sprayed the 10-storey building in Nagoya's Naka Ward on Friday, Liu Jianchao said at a press briefing. China also wants Japan to take more measures to protect Chinese institutions and citizens in Japan, he said.

"We strongly denounce this act of destruction by a Japanese rightist," Liu said.

Measures to protect Chinese interests in Japan should "prevent this kind of thing from happening again," he said.

The suspected sprayer, 24-year-old Yoichi Mishina of Gifu Prefecture, allegedly said he belonged to a rightist group and wanted to express opposition to the consulate, which was set up in October. No one was hurt in the attack.

The consulate in the Japanese industrial center is expected to facilitate trade with China, particularly between Toyota Motor Corp.'s headquarters in Aichi Prefecture and its partners in China. It also will look after 4,000 Chinese students in Nagoya.

Rightists have blared messages at the consulate from sound trucks on other occasions.