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TOKYO (AP) — When Tokyo's nationalist governor suggested buying uninhabited islands at the center of a long-simmering dispute with China, Beijing immediately denounced him and even Japan's government played down the plan, fearing an international firestorm.

Now activists on both sides have put the islands front-and-center in one of the biggest territorial flare-ups between the two Asian giants in years, a collision of the persistent animosities over Japan's imperialist past and the new fears of China's rising economic and military clout.

An unauthorized landing by Japanese activists on a tiny island in what the Japanese call the Senkaku chain — and the Chinese call the Diaoyu — has sparked an outpouring of anger and anti-Japanese protests across China and fueled calls for aggressive government action that some fear could lead to a dangerous escalation of tensions.

Japanese authorities on Monday questioned the 10 Japanese, including Tokyo city assembly members, who swam ashore on the disputed island the day before. News of the landing prompted thousands of Chinese to hold demonstrations in 10 cities, where protesters sang the Chinese national anthem or carried banners demanding Japan give up the islands.

Some vandals targeted Japanese-brand cars.

"Nationalist activists on both sides are working to exploit this issue for their own ends," said Shinji Kojima, a professor emeritus of Chinese history at Tokyo University. "If both governments aren't careful it could lead to a more serious conflict."

The Japan-China tensions are playing out against a backdrop of heightened concern over China's increasingly assertive stance in territorial disputes across the south and east China seas. In July, Beijing announced that a South China Sea military garrison on a remote island was being proclaimed a city, underlining its claims to own the entire, potentially oil-rich region, which is disputed by many of its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Japan's chief Cabinet spokesman, Osamu Fujimura, called this weekend's island landing "regrettable" because it was done without government approval. He also said it was an internal matter and China has no right to complain.

"These islands are our territory," he said.

The landing was the latest in a series of moves by Chinese and Japanese activists since April, when Tokyo's influential governor, Shintaro Ishihara, announced a plan to use public funds to buy several of the isles from a private Japanese citizen whom Japan says has legal ownership.

Within weeks, Tokyo received more than 1 billion yen ($12 million) in donations for the purchase, which is expected to cost between 2 and 3 billion yen.

Ishihara acknowledged the move was largely intended to put pressure on the national government to play a bigger role in the islands' administration. He is now pushing the envelope even further by seeking permission from the central government to send a team of experts there to study development possibilities and environmental issues.

Fujimura on Monday said Japan is considering the proposal, though sending a government-approved mission would likely infuriate Beijing.

The moves by Ishihara have been repeatedly slammed by the Chinese government and media.

Just days before the Japanese group's landing, five Chinese activists went ashore on the island on Aug. 15 — the anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender. The five and nine others were arrested and quickly deported back to Hong Kong.

The islands, also claimed by Taiwan, are important mainly because of their location, which is near key sea lanes. They are surrounded in the East China Sea by rich fishing grounds and as-yet untapped underwater natural resources.

Japan annexed them in 1895, saying no other nation exercised a formal claim. The islands, lying roughly midway between Okinawa and Taiwan, were administered by the United States after World War II until they were returned to Tokyo in 1972.

The conflicting claims have repeatedly flared up in the past, only to quiet down again. Two years ago, relations between China and Japan were soured by the arrest of the captain of a Chinese fishing ship that collided with a Japanese Coast Guard vessel after refusing to leave the region.

By quickly sending the Chinese activists back to Hong Kong, Japan appeared this time to be trying to tamp down the tensions.

China already is at loggerheads with other Asian nations in island disputes.

The Philippines, which claims South China Sea islands close to its main shores, has described as unacceptable Beijing's move last month to establish its new city on a remote island in the sea some 350 kilometers (220 miles) from China's southernmost province. Vietnam called China's move a violation of international law.

The United States, which maintains a large naval presence in the Pacific, has said maintaining freedom of navigation in the sea is in its national interest, a position that has angered China.

The latest tensions come as China's ruling Communist Party prepares for a major leadership transition and leaders in both China and Japan face strong domestic pressure to make a show of get-tough positions on matters of national territory.

Appealing to anti-Japanese sentiment, which is still strong in the countries that suffered under Japan's pre-1945 imperialism, is also often seen as a good way to elicit nationalist support in China and North and South Korea.

Earlier this month, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited a disputed island in the Sea of Japan, called Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean, that was widely seen as an attempt to play up such sentiment ahead of elections later this year.

AP reporters Scott McDonald in Beijing, Emily Wang on Ishigaki Island and Malcolm Foster in Tokyo contributed to this story.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's prime minister met for the first time with leaders of weekly anti-nuclear protests Wednesday but rejected their demand that two recently restarted nuclear plants should be shut again.

Tens of thousands of people have been gathering every Friday night outside Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's office compound to protest against nuclear power because of safety concerns set off by last year's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear crisis.

The 11 protest leaders were allowed into the complex for the first time since they started chanting anti-nuclear slogans outside the tightly guarded building in April.

"When the majority of the general public opposed the restart, you forced it by trampling down on us. It was ridiculous and outrageous," protester Misao Redwolf told Noda as she sat across from him during the 30-minute meeting. "We will continue our protests as long as you keep ignoring our voices."

The protesters said meeting the prime minister was not their goal and they would continue to gather until their demands are met.

Noda initially called the demonstrations outside his office complex "big noise," triggering criticism. He promised the protesters on Wednesday that he would listen to people's views and reflect them in policy decisions.

But Noda did not accept their demands that his government shut down two reactors that were restarted in July and keep the rest of the country's 48 reactors shuttered.

He has repeatedly insisted that nuclear plants need to be restarted to avoid power shortages that would impact Japan's economy.

"I will carefully listen to your voices and in the end we will make a responsible decision as the government and choose an energy mix that is safe and reliable for the people," Noda said, wrapping up the talks.

Wednesday's meeting came four months after the anti-nuclear coalition requested one with Noda.

The protests started with dozens of people in April and have become mass demonstrations. The protesters say their peak turnout was as many as 200,000 people from around the country, while unofficial police estimates cited by media say 10,000 to 20,000 gather weekly.

Police provide extremely tight security. They fence off the crowd, effectively confining protesters to sidewalks and preventing them from forcing their way into Noda's official residence.

Japan required new safety checks on nuclear plants after the March 11, 2011, tsunami caused meltdowns at three reactors in Fukushima. All of Japan's 50 reactors went off line in May for maintenance and inspections, and only the two Ohi reactors in western Japan have resumed generating power.

The government is currently finalizing a mid- to long-term energy policy, deciding one out of three options of nuclear energy dependency by 2030 — none, 15 percent or 20-25 percent. Officials initially had planned to pick a 15 percent scenario, but after town meetings and analyzing initial responses of public comments, they are now considering a zero-percent option.

Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter: twitter.com/mariyamaguchi