China Activists Call for iPhone 5 Boycott

On Monday, Japanese newspapers reported that Chinese activists have called for Chinese consumers to boycott Apple's

new iPhone 5. “The iPhone 5 contains many Japanese-made parts so there is no reason to buy it,” the Nihon Keizai Shinbun (Nikkei) reported Sunday, quoting a Chinese-language website. There have been widespread demonstrations in China against Japanese interests over a group of islands in the South China Sea. Activists have called for a boycott of Japanese products in China. Some demonstrations have turned violent with windows of Japanese-owned retail stores being smashed and vehicles at Japanese factories in China being overturned and set on fire by angry Chinese mobs. The call for a boycott of Apple's iPhone 5 because of its “Made in Japan” parts marks an unprecedented extension of the Chinese boycott of Japanese-made products. This may begin to affect the sales of U.S. and European goods in China if they are perceived to contain parts made by Japanese companies, although it remains to be seen if a boycott will be enough to overcome the siren call of owning the latest iPhone.