One man’s loss is another man’s gain. That’s the way it has always been and that’s the way it is today, especially in the corporate world.

Case in point: China’s anti-Japan protests, which seem to turn uglier each passing day. Toyota, Nissan and Honda have been forced to shut down their plants after attacks on some of their operations and dealerships.

Nevertheless, Chinese consumers still buy cars. If they shy away from Japanese vehicles, then they will probably turn to other brands from nations with which they have no quarrel.

As the territorial dispute between the two countries doesn’t seem to subside, China’s Passenger Car Association predicts that German brands will overtake their Japanese rivals this year for the first time since 2005, with the former’s share of the market rising to 22.5 percent and the latter’s dropping to 22 percent.

“The repercussions for Japanese carmakers are very serious and will last for a long time”, Cui Dongshu, deputy secretary general of the Passenger Car Association told Bloomberg News. “There are plenty of choices. Why bother with Japanese brands if there are concerns of safety due to anti-Japan sentiment?”

Sherry Wang is just one example of a Chinese citizen who’s afraid to drive her two-year old Toyota Camry and is commuting by bus these days: “I’m afraid that my car or I will become a target”, she explains. “I just hope life will get back to normal as quickly as possible.”

Even though the States is not taking sides, protesters right in front of the U.S. embassy surrounded the ambassador’s car and caused mild damages before the police intervened.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates China accounts for 30 percent of profit at Nissan, 17 percent at Toyota and 15 percent at Honda. With Japanese automakers halting their production and sales declining rapidly, September sales will hit their lowest point in 2012 and profits will decline, at least in the short term.

The irony is that practically all the Toyotas, Nissans etc. sold in China are manufactured by joint ventures between the Japanese and local manufacturers that are also hurt by this situation. Sadly, the angry mob is unlikely to grasp this concept…

You can view videos of the riots and the attack on the US ambassador’s car right after the break.

By Andrew Tsaousis

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