Associated Press

Shanghai, April 11:

Three Japanese students were attacked with beer mugs and ashtrays in Shanghai during

a weekend of violent anti-Japanese protests in several Chinese cities, Japanese diplomats said today. Several Chinese men confronted the students at a restaurant at around 9:00 pm on Saturday, asking them whether they were Chinese or Korean, said Makato Furue, a spokesman for the Japanese consulate in Shanghai. When they replied that they were Japanese, they were attacked and hit in the head, the official said. The three visited a hospital the next day for a checkup but had no major injuries, he said.

Keiji Ide, a Japanese embassy spokesman in Beijing, said the embassy was warning its citizens in China to be mindful of their safety following two consecutive weekends of anti-Japanese protests. “We have told Japanese several times last week to be careful,” Ide said.

Furue, who spoke with the students on Monday, said Shanghai police officers told him they were investigating the assault. He said it wasn’t clear how many Chinese had been involved.

However, a spokeswoman for the Shanghai police, Yang Yan, said her office had received

no reports about any assaults on Japanese citizens over the weekend.