welcome to nhk world "newsline." protests against the united states have spread across the muslim world since the release of a film accused of insulting the prophet muhammad. people in several countries took to the streets again after friday prayers. indonesia has the world's largest muslim population. about 250 people gathered in front of the u.s. embassy in jakarta. authorities deployed 300 police

officers to guard the compound. the rally ended after two hours without any major incident. anti-american rallies were also held in pakistan. demonstrations took place in the capital islamabad and the cities of karachi and peshawar. public anger against the united states is already strong in pakistan where u.s. air strikes targeting suspected militants regularly cause civilian casualties. in egypt, several hundred demonstrators clashed with security forces near the u.s. embassy in cairo. police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. >> authorities remain on alert ahead of possible demonstrations after the friday prayers. japan's prime minister wants to change how his citizens power their homes and businesses. yoshihiko noda unveiled his

long-awaited energy policy. it calls for the country to phase out nuclear power in the coming decades. the plan reflects the feelings of many japanese following last year's accident at the fukushima plant. but big business says the policy is problematic. nhk world's yam has the details. >> reporter: government ministers have spent months talking to each other, to experts, and to the public to figure out the role nuclear power should play in japan. prime minister noda has decided to work towards a nuclear-free society. >> translator: step by step we've come to face difficult challenges. but, we can no longer afford to postpone a solution. >> reporter: the new energy policy calls for japan to be

nuclear free as soon as possible. but it suggests 2030 as a target. it has three basic principles. first, limit the operation of nuclear reactors to 40 years. second, stop building nuclear plants. and third, only restart reactors regulatory authorities confirm are safe. japanese leaders target the energy policy soon after last year's meltdowns and explosions at fukushima daiichi. nuclear power was once the policy's cornerstone, but the accident highlighted its dangers. and it sparked a shift in japan. many citizens worried about the risks caused by radiation. the majority of people who

attended public hearings called for the government to abandon atomic energy. the noda administration says it will increase efforts to promote wind energy and conservation. but some question whether a cheap alternative power could be secured in the short term. business leaders say the policy will hinder economic growth. they argue no nuclear power means people will pay more for energy. >> translator: it will inevitably cause a surge in electricity prices and supply will become unstable. i seriously want the government to stop implementing policies that are anti-business. >> reporter: an expert who works on a committee that made

recommendations to the government says japanese leaders should listen to industry but they also must move forward. >> translator: they should discuss how they can compromise. it is impossible to go on as we did before march 11th, so we need more discussion and communication with industry. >> reporter: going nuclear free won't free japan from the legacy of nuclear power. it still has more than 50 years of radioactive waste to deal with. no final decision has been made on the disposal method or type. the prime minister admits there are still unknown factors that could affect the implementation of the plan. >> translator: making a definitive decision about the future is rather irresponsible. japan needs a strategy that

combines a firm direction and flexibility. >> reporter: noda's policy reflects public calls for a future without nuclear power. however, the road that would take japan there is still under construction. chin yamagishi, nhk world, tokyo. voters in japan are looking around for options in a general election they know is coming. they're dissatisfied with establishment parties, but the two biggest are trying to hold their interest. the ruling democrats and main opposition liberal democrats are busy selecting their leaders. four candidates entered the race to lead the dpj, including prime minister yoshihiko noda. he is up against two former agriculture ministers and a former internal affairs minister. but noda has a clear lead. members vote next friday. campaigning is now under way for the leadership of the main opposition liberal democratic party.

he five candidates include secretary-general ishihara, former defense minister and former prime minister shinzo abe. ldp members vote later in the month. >> translator: we have to rebuild the economy, finances, and local l thorities and social security. i have a clear vision of how to expand both domestic and foreign demand to revitalize the japanese economy. >> translator: we must control the rising yen and deal with deflation by tapping into the growth in the rest of asia. the currencies of developing nations will rise against the yen if they continue to grow their economies. >> polls suggest the liberal democrats have more support than the ruling dpj, but a new group under osaka mayor toru hashimoto is gaining public support.

some voters are considering nippon ishin no kai as a third option. political analysts have been looking at different scenarios and combing through polling data. shery ahn spoke earlier with nhk world's senior political commentator masayo nakajima, who has been keeping an eye on developments for us. >> how is yoshihiko noda expected to fare? >> well, the prime minister is expected to fend off his competition and stay in power. the other contenders do not have high profile. but his days as prime minister could be numbered. many voters didn't support his plan to double the consumption tax. others didn't agree with his decision to restart two nuclear reactors this summer. his approval rating has fallen to 30%. he has passed a package of financial and tax reforms. in exchange, he promised to call

a general election, but he doesn't want to. he'll be forced to dissolve the lower house between october and december, i think. he needs the opposition's support to pass budget-related bills and keep government services funded. you know, the democrats took power or office three years ago, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the ldp. they promised change. but some say they haven't delivered. >> and you mention the ldp. what about them? who could end up leading the main opposition party? >> a couple of party leaders seem to be out in front. you know, secretary-general nobuteru ishihara, as you mentioned, and former defense minister shigeru ishiba, both candidates support the consumption tax and both are critical of how prime minister noda has handled territorial disputes with china and south korea. they are pushing for japan to take a stronger stance. the polls suggest that the ldp

is in a good position to defeat the dpj. so the candidate who becomes the next party leader might find himself as prime minister within months. >> what about this new party, nippon ishin no kai? >> mm-hmm. voters are tired of the establishment parties are now looking at this so-called third pole. nippon ishin no kai means restore japan. hashimoto wants to review japan's pacifist constitution, promote free trade, and cut the number of diet members in half, along with cutting the salaries of those who remain. his populist and nationalist views have won him support. but some find him -- see him as a charismatic politician, who is more about style than substance. you know, he is aiming to win more than a third of the seat in the lower house. make no mistake, hashimoto will

be a key player in the coming elections. >> nhk world's senior political commentator masayo nakajima. japan's coast guard says six chinese ships entered japanese waters friday morning near disputed islands in the east china sea. the ships left the area around the senkaku islands in the afternoon. the coast guard says two vessels belonging to china's state oceanic administration entered the area at around 6:20 a.m. they were followed by four more ships soon after. coast guard officials warned them to leave the area. all the ships had left the waters by 1:30 p.m. officers of the crew of the intruding ships told them that the islands had traditionally been chinese territory. this is the first time since july that chinese government vessels have entered japan's waters. the japanese government bought the senkakus on tuesday from their private owner. prime minister yoshihiko noda is urging an all-out effort

to keep up surveillance of china's activities around the senkaku islands. noda issued the appeal at a meeting of cabinet ministers on friday. the meeting was called soon after the six vessels entered japan's waters. noda stressed the need of appropriate government offices to work closely together to deal with the situation. after, the meeting the chief cabinet secretary osamu fujimura expressed regret over the incident. >> translator: it's regrettable that these issues concerning the disputed islands have occurred. >> fujimura reiterated the government's position that the islands are an inherent par of japanese territory, according to history, and to international law. meanwhile, the foreign ministry summoned china's ambassador to japan to protest the illegal entry. japan and australia have moved a little bit closer. the two countries' foreign affairs and defense ministers have agreed to increase

cooperation on security issues. this includes closer ties between japan's self-defense forces and the australian military. nhk world's mari sakamoto reports from sydney. >> reporter: japanese and australian personnel have worked together before. they trained over the summer in hawaii to practice clearing mines. it's the kind of thing they think they can do more of. u.s. president barack obama has changed strategy with a new focus on the asia pacific region. security analysts say he has got his eye on the increasing military presence of china. japanese and australian personnel have responded by reinforcing cooperation. they want maintain stability in the region. so they've agreed to work together on things like

peacekeeping operations and disaster relief. >> translator: the security situation in the asia-pacific region has changed. we've succeeded in achieving common vision. >> this two plus two meeting, the governments of australia and japan, have reaffirmed a commitment to strengthening these partnerships. >> reporter: the ministers discussed how to supply japan's defense forces and australian defense force. the two sides reached an agreement two years ago on how to support personnel when working together. but japanese lawmakers haven't approved the deal. still, japanese leaders have promised to expand their role in security across the region. and they say they'll do the working side by side. mari sakamoto, nhk world, sydney.

the australians are encouraging their japanese counterparts to join talks on the transpacific partnership. australians are already taking part in the negotiations. but prime minister yoshihiko noda remains undecided on whether japan should join the talks. disputes continue between china and southeast asian countries over territories in the south china sea. the u.s. is seeking a resolution and is sending its defense secretary to asia for the third time in less than a year. patchari raksawong at our bureau in bangkok has the latest on what's going on in the region. defense secretary leon panetta is set to visit japan, china, and new zealand this weekend. the trip is the latest move in the pivot to asia policy of the u.s. panetta is expected to discuss the territorial disputes during his trip to china. plans for panetta's tour were announced by pentagon spokesperson george little at a news conference on thursday.

>> this weekend, secretary panetta will depart washington for his third visit to asia in eleven months as secretary of defense. >> the u.s. is urging china and the asean countries involved to draw up a legally binding code of conduct to ease tensions in the south china sea. the issue is likely to be a theme of panetta's visit to china. earlier this month, u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton visited china and some asean countries. the obama administration is highlighting its policy shift, which places new emphasis on the asia-pacific region. next we have news in brief. in cambodia, the release of a key figure of the former khmer rouge regime has been postponed. a tribunal established by the united nations and cambodia earlier ordered ieng thirit to be set free, saying her illness

which is likely alzheimer's disease, makes her unfit to stand trial. the tribunal spokesperson says the postponement of at least a few days was caused by the prosecution filing an appeal. prosecutors say the appeal is not to wait for ieng thirit to recover, but they are requesting she is not allowed contact with the other three defendants and that her passport is confiscated. ieng thirit is being held in a prison in the capital phnom penh. australia is sending asylum seekers to a new detention center on the pacific island nation of nauru. 30 refugees believed to be from sri lanka will be the first sent to the facility under australia's controversial new offshore policy. refugees often risk a dangerous sea passage to australia by way of indonesia. the australian government is reportedly -- or reportedly is discouraging new arrivals by

starting deportations to nauru. meanwhile, australia's human rights commission said it had serious concerns over the rights of the asylum seekers in nauru. turning now to the philippines, a major environmental concern in the country is dynamite fishing, which threatens fragile barrier reefs. but local officials and environment activists have a unique solution. they are scaring away fishermen who use explosives with statues of the virgin mary and baby jesus placed deep below the surface of the ocean. and on this day over 40 divers made an underwater pilgrimage to the religious icons. one member of an environmental protection group says the strategy hasn't completely stopped the dynamite fishermen, but it is encouraging them to change their practices. authorities hope the

government-protected site will become a unique tourist destination. businesses in thailand are gradually recovering following last year's severe floods. but the country's agricultural sector is still struggling to return to predisaster levels of production. farmers are trying to bring back the fruit that was once the pride of central thailand. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the durian has a unique appearance with hundreds of thorns covering its husk. it is one of the largest fruits in the world and famous for its strong odor, which leaves people divided. now despite what some may have described as an offensive smell it actually has a pretty creamy and sweet texture, and that's why it's so popular amongst millions of consumers, and the that's why it's own as the king of fruits in southeast asia.

thailand is one of the biggest producers of durian. vendors are common, and the prices they charge vary greatly depending on the type. the most expensive varieties come from a certain province. a single fruit can fetch up to $1,600 u.s. dollars. but floods devastated the region in 2011. about 98% of the orchards were inundated. the rich soil along the river that helps produce rich-tasting fruit was damaged. farmers were left without their cash crop. one of them is persud. during the floods he could only stand by and watch as his 1.44 hectacre field went below the water line. the orchard has been in his family for six generations, but it only took a short time for

floodwaters to kill all his trees. >> translator: it's sad because the durian were the pride of our family. i have gotten everything from durian. but today we don't have that pride anymore. it's discouraging. >> reporter: thai authorities have stepped in to help farmers through the crisis. on this day, hundreds of durian farmers gathered at an event in an effort to revive the durian orchards. academics are teaching farmers how to restore nutd rens to the soil so durian trees will grow faster. >> translator: durian is the staple crop of the province. it is also original and the pride of the province. so, that's why providing more knowledge, such as how to properly grow durians, and soil amendment is important.

>> reporter: as most of the farmers joining the event lost all their trees to the disaster, the highlight was receiving free durian saplings. authorities rescued these saplings from orchards last year and preserved them at a conservation center. persart has been able to use more than 150 free saplings to start growing trees again. but it's not enough, he says, because it will take at least five years before they yield fruit. the future is uncertain. >> translator: we must start from zero. i don't know when it will happen. but i hope that orchard will bear fruit again. >> reporter: although their battle to recover from the floods continues, farmers like prasert have not given up hope that one day the king of fruits

will reign again. dhra dhirakaosal, nhk world, central thailand. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin for today. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. a large typhoon is heading towards okinawa. meteorologist robert speta has the details. rob rt? well, currently there's a very violent typhoon samba is pulling off here towards the north. on the satellite imagery, you can see that very clear and defined eye in here. around that eye is the eye wall, and that's where you're packing some winds upwards of 288 kilometers per hour. it does look like all this energy is going to continue to push off here towards the north across portions of southern okinawa here. you could actually be seeing some ten-meter-high waves with it as it starts to crash onshore. also, you have the risk of storm surge here in the right front quadrant of the storm is where you're going to be seeing some wind blowing this water onshore. and then on sunday morning you

have high tide so, that combined with this high storm surge is definitely going to be creating the risk of some coastal flooding across much of this region here. and then as it continues to push off there towards the north, some widespread rain showers in western portions of mainland japan here, even toward korea, as well. but not just that, some very heavy rainfall could be seen. in the next 24 hours in oak gnaw washgs you could see as much as 1888 millimeters and going into sunday nearly 300 to 500 millimeters could be seen across this entire area, hon chew and kyushu as well and eventually into south korea going into the early part of next week. we'll definitely be watching this closely, not just all these factors, even tornadoes and some of the outer rain bands could be popping up here due to the strong thunderstorms that are going to be developing around this. a very intense and violent typhoon samba. now, farther down towards the south, across the tropics, monsoonal flow is picking up in northern vietnam. there's actually a report of

over 200 millimeters in the past 24 hours. this is on top of continued days of over 100 millimeters across this entire area. flood willing continue to be high at risk here, not just there, over towards the philippines, as well, as that flow continues to push into the center of this storm system. temperatures across this region, bangkok with a high of 34, accompanied by those rain showers. hong kong at 31, and beijing getting up to 26 on your saturday. now over towards the americas, we are watching a frontal area push across the central plains here even down towards the south, texas, louisiana, and mississippi. it does look like it could be stalling out through your weekend and into the early part of next week, bringing some rain showers and thunderstorm activity with it, as well. flooding could be possible, and even up to one centimeter of rainfall could linger across this area. now, north of that, see the big blue h, that will be creating big and bright blue skies across much of the northern plains. dakotas could see temperatures getting up into the high 30s as opposed to your overnight

temperatures. the lows are going to be drastically different, down to single digits. so a very drastic change here as we go through your september here across much of the north. temperatures are reflecting that, winnipeg with a high of 21, now south of that front you're also seeing warm weather, houston at 32, and across much of the east coast into the high 20s here going through the start of your weekend. and over towards europe, we're continuing to watch a very potent low-pressure area there in italy over towards the balkans. this is creating some 65 kilometer-per-hour winds, heavy rains with it, as well. does look like this will continue to pull off there towards the east. heavy rain warnings are also in place across much of this region. and then off towards the north, windy conditions across the northern british isles, over towards the scandinavian peninsula as this low-pressure area, the remnants of leslie, continues to drift off towards the northeast. as far as temperatures, though, london and paris into the low 20s. it does look like heat warnings in effect for lisbon. here's a look at your extended

forecast. ♪ we'll be back with more

updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.