Tension is high in a China-Japan row over disputed islands as anti-Japan protests continue in China and two Japanese land on one of the islands.
The coast guard said the pair had left, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Osama Fujimura told reporters.
Hundreds of Japanese businesses and Japan's embassy in China have suspended operations, following days of protests.
More unrest is feared on Tuesday, the anniversary of an incident that led to Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931.
On 18 September, 1931, Japanese soldiers blew up a railway in Manchuria, blaming it on dissidents. Known as the ''Mukden incident'', this was later revealed to be a pretext for the invasion of northeast China.
At the scene
A sensitive date for China, 18 September marks the day in 1931 when Japan staged the excuse for its later invasion.
This year's anniversary is particularly tense because of a mounting row between the countries over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.
In Beijing, thousands of protesters carrying banners and pictures of Mao marched in small groups past the Japanese embassy on Liangmaqiao Street.
Despite the aggression of their chants, the protesters' mood was orderly. Hundreds of shirt sleeved Beijing police kept guard.
Protests in China are closely controlled, giving them an often choreographed air.
The question now is whether, having let people vent their fury, China's authorities move to tone down the mood.
Though even if they do, none of the underlying tensions would have been addressed.
Thousands of protesters are rallying across China, reports say, with hundreds gathering outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing, where passport services have been suspended.
Riot police line the street outside the embassy as protesters chant slogans and throw plastic bottles at the building.
This follows days of protests from the weekend targeting Japanese businesses, many of which, including electronic companies Panasonic and Canon, have shut down their operations.
Trade hitAs tension heightens, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who has arrived in Beijing for talks with his counterpart and top Chinese leaders, is expected to reiterate the call for calm.
Mr Panetta, who was in Tokyo on Monday, has warned of the potential for the conflict to escalate and urged both sides to show restraint.
The most recent landing on the islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, follows a series of landings by both Chinese and Japanese activists over the past month.
The pair of activists landed on one of the disputed islands at 9:30 am local time (0030 GMT), Mr Fujimura said.
The two are reportedly from the southern Kyushu island, Japanese media reported, citing police in Okinawa.
The tension between the two countries has hit trade relations and sparked off fears of wider economic consequences.
Japan-China disputed islands
- The archipelago consists of five islands and three reefs
- Japan, China and Taiwan claim them; they are controlled by Japan and form part of Okinawa prefecture
- The Japanese government signed a deal in September 2012 to purchase three islands from Japanese businessman Kunioki Kurihara, who used to rent them out to the Japanese state
- The islands were the focus of a major diplomatic row between Japan and China in 2010
China, meanwhile, is maintaining its sovereignty over the uninhabited but resource-rich islands in the East China Sea which are controlled by Japan and also claimed by Taiwan.
Last Friday, China sent six boats sent to "patrol" the islands after Japan sealed a deal to buy three of the islands from a private owner earlier in the week.
The China Marine Surveillance (CMS) will continue with the ''law enforcement activities'' to demonstrate China's jurisdiction over the islands, Chinese state media reported.
The islands have long been a point of contention, but the most recent row has heightened tension and led to fears of a naval conflict.
But analysts see Japan's decision to buy the islands as damage limitation in response to a much more provocative plan by the nationalistic governor of Tokyo, who wanted to purchase and develop them.
In Japan, the government seems unlikely to back down with an election looming.
18 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-19632042#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
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