Chinese people protest Japan's "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands. [File photo]

Japanese enterprises have reacted calmly but they are worried that the dispute will exert a wider and deeper impact on the Japanese economy, the article continued.

Figuratively calling economic punishments as the "gun", the article said the gun is in the hands of the Chinese government, but it is to some extent decided by the Japanese government whether and when to pull the trigger.

The article warned that Japan has actually touched the trigger since it staged the farce of buying the Diaoyu Islands.

With the trigger being forced to be pulled, Japan's key economic sectors, including manufacturing, finance, exports specially made for China, imports of strategic materials and investment enterprises could all become targets, the article said.

It is like Japan itself is reaching out for the trigger with the Japanese government wilfully infringing China's sovereignty, which will surely cause self-injuries in its economic development, it said.

An economic war will hurt both countries, but China has the willpower and tolerance to afford the consequences, which are more disastrous to Japan, the article said.

Protests against Japan's purchase of the Diaoyu Islands have been seen across China over the past few days. To affirm its sovereignty, China has sent surveillance ships to patrol in waters around the Diaoyu Islands and released geographic coordinates, base points and baselines for the island and its affiliated islets.

The Chinese government said the Diaoyu Islands have belonged to China since ancient times. There are records about the islands in a book published during the rule of Yong Le (1403 to 1424) in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), more than 400 years before Japan claimed discovery of the Diaoyu Islands in 1884.