G8/Japan

Protest before rich nations meet

Article published on the 2008-07-05 Latest update 2008-07-08 05:47 TU

Farmers protest in Sapporo
(Photo: Reuters)

About 5,000 demonstrators gathered in Sapporo, on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, ahead of the summit of the G8 group of rich nations which starts on Monday in the nearby resort of Toyko. French officials say that Europe can play a "pivotal role" in the climate change debate, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that the meeting must tackle the global food crisis.

The protestors, who faced thousands of police, included trade unionists, anti-war activists, farmers and students from around the globe. Their concerns included the Iraq war, labour rights, global warming and the food crisis.

Japanese farmers were demanding more subsidies, according to correspondent David Macneal.

"They say that without them a lot of them will go bankrupt and Japan will have to import more food," he told RFI. "This is a hugely sensitive issue in Japan because, of all of the G8 countries … Japan is the least self-sufficient in terms of food."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Sunday newspaper Tagesspiegel am Sonntag that the summit is likely to adopt a "vast catalogue of measures" to tackle soaring prices and guarantee food supply.

French officials say that the summit will be "exceptionally important" to efforts to tackle climate change. They say that, with US President George Bush about to quit his post and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev starting his term of office, Europe will play a "pivotal role".

Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio "Lula" da Silva is among a number of leaders of non-G8 countries travelling to Japan.

He says he will defend the use of biofuels in the fight against global warming and remind industrialised nations of their "historic responsibility" to bear much of the burden.

A World Bank study leaked this week reportedly blamed the switch to biofuels for a 75 per cent rise in food prices.