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22,000 mass in anti-Japanese rally

BEIJING, China -- Tens of thousands of Chinese citizens have taken to the streets in several cities to protest against Japan, with some throwing rocks, plastic bottles and tomatoes at the office of the consulate general, officials said.

An estimated 10,000 protesters were in Shanghai, another 10,000 in Hangzhou and about 2,000 in Tianjin.

(Thousands of anti-Japanese protesters march in Shanghai)

Recent angry anti-Japan protests in China have centered on Japan's approval of history books that downplay its World War II aggression and what China considers Japan's failure to admit atrocities.

China is also opposed to Japan's gaining a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, something the country is hoping to do.

A spokesman for the Japanese embassy in Beijing told CNN protesters in Shanghai were throwing plastic bottles, rocks and tomatoes at the consulate general's office, but did not have any information on damage.

Protesters were also reported in Hangzhou, and witnesses there told CNN some protesters threw rocks at a Japanese store.

Also in Shanghai, witnesses told CNN some Japanese restaurants had their doors kicked in.

Protesters were singing nationalist songs and shouting slogans demanding the boycott of Japanese goods.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for Beijing and Tokyo to calm their flare-up.

"I think the two countries, I hope, will maintain their contacts, and they have a whole series of contests -- commercial, financial, political, and all this," Annan said on Thursday.

"And I hope this issue will be handled in a manner that will not escalate. I rely on the wisdom of the two countries to find a way out."

Annan's call came as the United States warned its citizens in China to be on guard, saying protests planned this weekend could turn against all foreigners.

"The demonstrations are purportedly against Japanese interests, but could involve foreigners in general."

The weekend protests, which seemed to have tacit state support, also targeted Japan's U.N. Security Council bid.

Annan has said he wants to expand the Security Council to better reflect current global political realities, including better representation from the developing world.

(A Chinese soldier stands outside a bookstore in Beijing.)

But China, a permanent member already, is opposed to Japan getting a seat.

The U.N. chief has called for a decision to be made by September on how to reshape the council. Chinese officials have suggested that time frame is not possible.

In last weekend's protests, which took place in several Chinese cities, thousands of Chinese citizens called for a boycott of Japanese products, burned Japanese flags and shouted anti-Japanese slogans. The protests sparked concern and denunciation from Japan.

Another point of contention is Tokyo's decision to issue drilling rights in a disputed area of the East China Sea.

Japan on Wednesday said it would award deep-sea gas exploration rights in the disputed zone to private companies, a move Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Qin Gang called a "serious provocation."

Both governments disagree on the boundary and both claim the gas deposits. China has already begun exploring the fields, in a move Tokyo says extends into its zone.

Trade concerns

(A rig operated by China in the disputed area of the East China Sea)Japanese foreign minister Nobutaka Machimura is expected to go to Beijing this weekend to discuss the fraying ties.

China has stood firm so far, with Premier Wen Jiabao telling reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday Japan must "face up to history squarely."

On Tuesday Japanese Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said he was concerned about the impact of the Chinese sentiment on Japanese companies, one day after Koizumi called the protests "regrettable" and urged the Chinese to protect the nation's citizens.

"Yes, I'm worried ... they're a country that's trying to become a market economy and we need them to take a proper response," Nakagawa told a news conference.

"It's a scary country."

Japan's leaders have so far apologized to China on no fewer than 17 occasions since the two nations restored diplomatic ties in 1972, according to The Economist Global Agenda.

(Annan hopes the issue is handled "in a manner that will not escalate.)

Japan is now also widely regarded as a model nation -- a pacificist democracy that donates large sums of money to the United Nations and the World Bank.

But the textbook row has only exacerbated a deep-seated ill-will. Of 1,000 Chinese in major cities surveyed in a telephone poll by the independent Social Survey Institute of China, nearly all said the textbook move was an insult, with most saying it was "open provocation," Reuters reported.

The tensions can be traced back to Japan's military campaigns in the last century. Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, and occupied various parts of China until 1945.

In particular, Chinese say Tokyo plays down 1937's "Nanjing massacre." When that city fell to the Japanese Imperial Army, tens of thousands of civilians and prisoners of war were killed.

There is also much resentment of Japan's WWII practice of forcing women from China and other parts of Asia to become sex slaves for its soldiers.

Several appeals by those women for compensation have been rejected by Tokyo's high court.

CNN correspondent Tara Duffy contributed to this report