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"The basic policy of our government has been to be conciliatory to Japan and the rest of the world," said Pan Wei, a political theorist at Beijing University. "But that policy has become less viable today, when people are demanding a harder line."

The government's new approach will face a major test this weekend. It will juggle an emergency diplomatic visit from the Japanese foreign minister, Nobutaka Machimura, with a possible second wave of rallies against Japan. Messages have circulated on Internet forums and mobile phones calling for demonstrations in Beijing, Shanghai, Shengyang and Chengdu, though it remains uncertain if the authorities will allow them to proceed.

One well-connected government media editor in Beijing quoted a senior Communist Party leader as saying he was pleased with how protests unfolded last weekend. But the same official also warned about the spread of nationalist sentiment, including within the party itself.

"There is a state of concern, even panic, about whether this could get out of control," the editor said.

Hu Jintao, China's recently anointed top leader, adopted a nationalist stance after taking full control of the government and military last fall. In March he arranged for the country's legislature to approve a law authorizing military action if Taiwan moves too far toward formal independence.

Officials said the law was necessary because delegates at the generally passive legislature, the National People's Congress, demanded that the government do something concrete to check Taiwan's independence movement. But even Chinese officials say the legislation backfired overseas, probably delaying European plans to lift an embargo on arms sales to China.

China often emphasizes that it intends to have a "peaceful rise," integrating itself into the world economy while living in harmony with its neighbors and the United States.