TOKYO: Japan’s top three carmakers said last week that annual sales figures in China last year slumped as a consumer boycott sparked by a nasty Tokyo-Beijing territorial row took a heavy toll.

Nissan—which has the most exposure to China of the three—said sales in the world’s biggest vehicle market last year fell 5.3 percent to 1.18 million units.

“The Sino-Japanese territorial disputes that began in September have seriously affected Nissan’s sales and marketing activities in China,” it said in a statement.

Toyota, Japan’s largest carmaker, said its China sales in 2012 fell 4.9 percent to 840,000 vehicles, although it forecast a recovery this year, announcing an annual sales target above 900,000 units.

Honda said its sales in China declined 3.1 percent last year to 598,576 vehicles, its second-straight annual decline, after the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster battered Japanese manufacturers’ results.

A longstanding diplomatic dispute flared badly in mid-September after Tokyo nationalized East China Sea islands also claimed by Beijing, sparking huge protests across China and boycotts of Japanese products. Japan’s top three carmakers, which all have manufacturing facilities in China, scaled back production as sales slumped.