Nissan Motor Co. suffered a 34.6 percent plunge in October-December profit to 54.1 billion yen ($579 million) as global sales languished, especially in China, where anti-Japanese sentiment flared over a territorial dispute, AP reported.

Yokohama-based Nissan said Friday, February 8 its quarterly sales dipped 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 2.2 trillion yen ($23.5 billion).

All the Japanese automakers are experiencing a sales decline in China, where a territorial dispute set off anti-Japanese riots and boycotts last year. A slowdown in Europe added to Nissan's woes.

Nissan also struggled in the key U.S. market, which was booming for rival Toyota Motor Corp.

Nissan stuck to its fiscal year forecast through March for a 320 billion yen ($3.4 billion) profit on 9.82 trillion yen ($105 billion) sales.