Weeks of strained ties between China and Japan has prompted large-scale online activism. The virtual organizing and protests stem from Chinese anger over Japan's quest for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council to a maritime dispute over drilling rights for natural gas in the East China Sea, and the wording of Japanese school texts on its role in China during its occupation between 1931 and 1945.

China began shutting down anti-Japanese website's Friday, after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued an apology for the wartime suffering Japan inflicted on Asian countries. Despite the blocking, Chinese bloggers and other protesters are still getting through, with some websites calling for massive demonstrations on May 1 and May 4 in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wenzhou and Chongqing cities.

Anti-Japan activist Lu Yunfei of china918.net, an Internet petition against Japan's Security Council campaign, expects to add 6 million more signatures to the already 24 million by September.

Japanese government websites came under cyber attack last week, amid reports a Chinese website was calling for the jamming of Japanese servers.

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