welcome to nhk world "newsline" on this national holiday. anti-japanese protests are about to enter their second week in china. japan's foreign minister has met the u.s. defense secretary to discuss how to defuse the dispute. relations with china have been shaken since japan nationalized the senkaku islands, triggering the protests. china and taiwan also claim the islands. koichiro gemba and leon panetta

met in tokyo on monday. gemba said his government plans to resolve calmly based on a broad perspective. the two men agreed to work together to further damage japan's relationship with beijing. speaking afterwards, gemba urged the chinese government to maintain law and order. >> translator: it's unfortunate that anti-japanese protests have become so big and that some have turned violent and inflicted damage on japanese businesses. >> later in the day, panetta also met with japan's defense minister satoshi morimoto. panetta told reporters that tokyo and washington agreed the disputed islands are covered by the u.s./japan security treaty, but he added that the u.s. will not take sides and urged both countries to act with restraint. >> the united states, as a matter of policy, does not take a position with regards to competing sovereignty claims.

it is extremely important that diplomatic means on both sides be used to try to constructively resolve these issues. >> demonstrators, angry at japan's purchase of the senkaku islands, have again taken to the streets of beijing. the japanese embassy in the capital is bracing for more protests and warning its citizens to be on alert. in beijing about 200 demonstrators marched in front of the embassy on monday. they waved placards and demanded that japan return the islands. but the protest was smaller than those held over the weekend. about 1,000 riot police and several hundred regular officers stood guard. they attempted to prevent the protests getting out of control. nearby streets were blocked, and police used loudspeakers to call for order. police have posted a message online calling for orderly protests. the message warns that destroying property is not patriotic and will be punished.

police in the southern city of guangzhou say they have detained 11 protesters on suspicion of damaging property during a demonstration on sunday. the japanese consulate in guangzhou says a japanese has been assaulted by several chinese men. he was shopping in a market in dongjuan and sustained minor injuries. japan's embassy in beijing is calling for its citizens to remain on alert as cases of harassment grow. the demonstrators are gearing up for an anniversary on tuesday connected with japan's 1931 invasion of manchuria. there are at least 35 rallies planned across the country. electronics giant panasonic is among several japanese businesses hit by the demonstrations in china, and the threat of more protests is prompting other japanese firms to temporarily close. panasonic has suspended operations at three factories until tuesday after protesters damaged buildings and equipment. electronics maker canon will

also halt operations at its factories for a day. mitsubishi chemical holdings will close operations at its beijings office. consumer goods company lion will temporarily shut down a factory in shin on tuesday. supermarket chain ian closed five of its outlets on monday. a branch was severely damaged by demonstrators on saturday. it remains closed. international forces in afghanistan admit they've made another deadly miscalculation in their ongoing fight against insurgents. an air strike sunday killed at least eight afghan women. the attack wounded seven others. people in northeastern afghanistan protested against the air strike.

soldiers with the international security assistance force carried out the attack in a mountainous part of the province. isaf officials say troops were targeting about 50 insurgents thought to be in the area. they say they deeply regret the tragedy and will strive to ensure their soldiers cause no more civilian casualties. afghan president hamid karzai condemned the nato air strike. he sent an official delegation to the area to investigate. politicians in afghanistan have been pressuring international forces to do more to prevent civilian deaths. muslims in europe have joined protests against a film that denigrates the prophet muhammad. the american-made film has triggered sometimes deadly violence across much of the world. in london, about 1,000 people waved placards on sunday in front of the u.s. embassy. they demanded that americans get out of muslim countries.

around 500 demonstrators gathered outside the american embassy in the danish capital copenhagen. in paris, about 250 people rallied saturday in front of the u.s. embassy there. the associated press says police arrested 150 protesters who did not have permission to demonstrate, but they were quickly released. >> we are here to call for the muslims to voice their opinion not through violence. we don't accept or condone this. but not to be silent and not to accept for their beliefs to be vilified. >> large numbers of police watched the demos in london, copenhagen, and paris, but there are no reports of major outbreaks of violence. aung san suu kyi is making up for lost time. myanmar's pro-democracy leader didn't travel for nearly 25 years. now she's on another trip abroad. she's visiting the united states to collect an award and meet government and business leaders. aung san suu kyi left an airport

in yangong sunday and headed to washington, the first leg of her two-week visit. members of the u.s. congress will give her a long-awaited award, the congressional gold medal. they decided in 2008 to present it to her. it's the country's highest civilian honor. aung san suu kyi leads myanmar's largest opposition party. she won a seat in parliament in april. she is cooperating with the government's democratic reforms. president barack obama's administration eased economic sanctions against myanmar in july in response to those changes. aung san suu kyi didn't leave her country previously. she feared the military wouldn't allow her to return home. she resumed overseas trips this year as a member of parliament. she visited thailand in may and europe in june. myanmar's president thain seine will be in the united

states at the same time as aung san suu kyi. he'll be attending the u.n. general assembly in new york. the berlin philharmonic orchestra has played a charity concert for children in a quake-hit japanese city. the money raised will help buy musical instruments. ♪ the concert played to a packed house of about 1,200 people in berlin, raising money for a children's orchestra in soma city. the city has a history of supporting musical education. now it plans to launch a children's orchestra. the organizers hope it will help the children recover from last year's earthquake and tsunami. the program included famous pieces by vor ak and schonberg. it ended with 12 cellists playing a piece by a japanese compos composer. ♪ the children's orchestra hopes to get off the ground this autumn.

and now here's the weather forecast. ♪

we'll be back with more news next hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. have a great day wherever you are.