A "Plants vs. Zombies"-style game that depicts Japanese ninja and sumo wrestlers invading an island chain claimed by Beijing and Tokyo has been pulled from Apple Inc.'s App Store.
The game, "Defend the Diaoyu Islands," which had been available on the Chinese-language version of the App Store, was no longer listed Wednesday.
The company that made the game, Shenzhen ZQGame Network Co., said it was given no explanation for the move, the China Daily newspaper reported Wednesday. The company apologized to players and is in negotiations with Apple over the game, the China Daily said.
In the game, players defend the islets by unleashing various attacks on the invaders, which include soldiers carrying Japanese flags, ninja and sumo wrestlers. The game plays music from "Tunnel Warfare," a Chinese movie about the war Japan fought with China from the 1930s to 1945.
Apple's terms of service say that games on its App Store "cannot target a specific race, culture, real government or corporation or any other real entity," the China Daily said.
The islands, known as the Senkakus in Japanese, are about 140 km north of the Okinawa island of Ishigaki.
Sovereignty over the area would give the holder control of undersea natural gas and oil fields.