Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has called on China to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and businesses in China, amid the second day of anti-Japan protests in China Sunday.

The protests stem from Japan's actions to claim complete control of a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.

Thousands of Chinese protesters staged a demonstration outside the Japanese embassy in Beijing Saturday, where protesters threw rocks and burned Japanese flags. The protests spread to several other Chinese cities.

The protests are the latest in a series of demonstrations since Tuesday when Japan said it had bought the islands from a private owner. China says such a purchase is not legal, and claims the territory as its own.

The dispute escalated Friday when China sent six surveillance ships to the waters around the uninhabited islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.