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Proposed sale of Japanese land for Chinese consulate stokes anti-Chinese views
Flashes of anger
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In the weeks after the incident, nationalism flared on both sides. Japanese lobbed smoke bombs toward the Chinese embassies in Nagasaki and Fukuoka. A bus carrying tourists in Fukuoka was blocked by Japanese right-wingers, who screamed at the passengers and banged on the windows, prompting China to issue a travel warning. The finance bureau in Nagoya, too, received its first batch of angry phone calls and letters, asking the government to reconsider the consulate deal.
Sugita, however, heard of the possible land sale only in October, thanks to a comment posted on his personal blog. His next step: He drafted a statement of complaint, his address at the top, 10 lines for signatures below. He thought maybe he could gather 5,000 signatures - provided he spent enough time outside Nagoya's busiest train stations, lobbying passers-by.
At home, Sugita printed 10 sheets, then 50, then 500, and every time he went back to the train station, he found residents willing to sign their names. Every time he had a thick stack of signatures, he delivered them to the finance bureau. By Dec. 8, the bureau had received 10,000 signatures. On Jan. 11, Sugita dropped off 10,000 more signatures - 1,000 sheets of paper, stretching the bag he carried them in.
"They were in shock," Sugita said. "I told them, 'Unless you call off the sale, you're going to get more.' "
For now, the land remains uninhabited. Nine low-slung dormitories on the property now gather cobwebs.
"The sale has not been frozen," Hayashi said. "But it has been six months since we closed the sale announcement, so we do feel the need to make a decision. We don't have a particular date for that."
harlanc@washpost.com Special correspondent Akiko Yamamoto contributed to this report.