Japan beefs up security for G-8 summit

Published: July 5, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Order reprints
HOKKAIDO, Japan, July 5 (UPI) -- Japanese officials say they're mobilizing about 20,000 police officers at the upcoming Group of Eight summit site in Hokkaido, bracing for possible violence.

The leaders of the G-8 nations begin arriving in Japan Sunday, and in the run-up to the meeting security is being tightened not only in Hokkaido but also in Tokyo and other major cities, Kyodo reported. The country's air force is flying reconnaissance aircraft near Hokkaido to prevent terrorist attacks from the air. The summit venue at Lake Toya is on top of a hill.

Activists planning to protest against the summit have set up campsites in Hokkaido that can accommodate about 2,000 to 3,000 people, the Japanese news agency said.

The summit, hosted by Japan Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, will attract heads of state not only from the G-8 countries but also 14 other nations, making it the largest-ever G-8 summit since the group began meeting in 1975. Stabilizing the world's overheated oil market will top the leaders' agenda.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



Democrats slipping but still supported (9 min)
Study: Rising obesity changes perceptions (17 min)
Doctor advises: Don't go to work sick (28 min)
Yoga schools stretched by state regulation (31 min)
Mom charged with botched murder-suicide (32 min)
Meds cause dry mouth, researchers find (49 min)
Puppy transporter charged with cruelty
fark
Iran condemns Italy for "violent suppression of justice-seeking protesters by the Italian police"...
Only the Royals would consider Yuniesky Betancourt a 'major trade'. Second paragraph- 'Betancourt,...
Probably the most spectacularly disturbing suicide you'll read about today
Photoshop these creepy earrings
Patronizing Tijuana hookers while on drugs may be unhealthy, according to Dr. N.S. Sherlock, of...
Defense lawyers request words like "polygamy,""cult" and "compound" not be used in their client's...