Protesters holding Japanese national flags shout slogans in Tokyo.
Japanese nationalist groups have staged a demonstration protesting the Tokyo government's "diplomatic defeat" in a maritime dispute against Beijing.
More than 1,500 people took to the streets of Tokyo on Saturday, holding signs reading, "Never tolerate weak [Prime Minister Naoto] Kan government defeated by Chinese threats."
The protest comes as a territorial dispute over the ownership of a chain of islands in the East China Sea has soured relations between Tokyo and Beijing in recent weeks.
Both states claim sovereignty over the islands that are said to have vast oil and gas reserves.
The latest diplomatic row intensified between the two Asian economic powers after a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese patrol boats near the islands.
"China is claiming its sovereignty of the Senkaku and even eyeing at getting the [southern] Okinawa main island under its control," said former air force chief Toshio Tamogami, one of the organizers of the rally.
The Japanese call the disputed islands 'Senkaku,' while the Chinese call them 'Diaoyu'.
"The time has come for us to bolster our defense," AFP quoted Tamogami as saying.
The protesters also accused China of an "invasion of the Senkaku."
The diplomatic row has also sparked protests in China.