http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008 Feed from RCMS-0.4.dev GNU FDL - http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html 240 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5072.html Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Q1: What permissions do I need if I want to enter and stay in Japan for the G8 Summit? Q2: Do I need a visa? Which countries are exempted from the visa requirement? Q3: What is immigration procedure like? What am I going to be asked? Q4: How can I prove that I comply with the landing conditions? Q5: Do I have to know where to stay in Japan? Q6: Will I be refused to enter if I have a criminal record? Q7: Do I need an invitation? Q8: What happens if I am refused entry to Japan? http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5067.html Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 By Ann Wright The presence of the US military, 63 years after World War II, is a huge source of anger for the citizens of Japan, Korea, Germany and Italy. On the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, the US military uses an artillery firing range known as Yausubetsu. The range is small in comparison to ranges in the United States and Germany - only 30 kilometers by 10 kilometers - but the source of irritation to Japanese farmers whose land was taken for the range and for those who live near the range is large. The peaceful rolling hills and valleys of the area are the home of the dairy industry of Hokkaido. The Japanese have used a cartoon of an angry dairy cow with boxing gloves as their symbol of protest of the US military's use of the range. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5063.html Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 KYOTO — This year's Group of Eight summit in Toyako, Hokkaido, could end up a failure unless Japan demonstrates strong leadership and the political will to forge agreements among the members on issues ranging from climate change to African development, international NGOs warned Wednesday. That was the mood among many attending the 2008 Civil G8 Dialogue, a two-day gathering of more than 160 international environmental, development and human rights NGOs that are pressing the G8 to honor past commitments and to engage society when formulating new ones. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5056.html Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *Ainu activists announce protest plans for July in Hokkaido.* TOKYO, Apr 28 (IPS) - Japan's hosting of the G8 summit in Hokkaido in July will afford a rare opportunity for the Ainu people who live on the island to press their long-standing demand to be recognised as an indigenous people. Officially, for the Jul 7-9 summit of rich nations, Japan’s leaders have said they would like to see global health high on the agenda as also sustainable forest development, climate change and development. But the Ainu have other plans to roll out in Hokkaido at the Jul 1-4 Indigenous Peoples Summit, ahead of the G8 event. "If the government recognises the Ainu as indigenous people everything would change,’’ said Saki Mina, an Ainu leader, at a press conference here last week. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5053.html Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 “G8 Action Network” Convergence-center / Camp Work Group • Our Plan The G8 will be held in July of this year (200 8) at lake Toya (Toya-ko) in Hokkaido. We expect thousands of people from all over the world will gather in Hokkaido, as individuals and various NGO groups, to take part in a medley of actions. We (Convergence-center/Camp Work Group) look forward to the completion of an Alternative Village, both a hive for the swarm and a place for dialogue. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5046.html Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000 This is a solidarity letter from far across the Eurasian continent, in the far east, Japan. The globalisation of neo-liberalism has been on a rampage here in Japan as well. It promotes and applauds severe competition between people and is ripping the society into pieces. Through the deflation of the Japanese economy in the 1990's, management gain and corporate dividends have drastically increased. On the other hand, the Japanese government, with its call for the efficiency of administrative services and maintenance of corporate global competitiveness, has been accelerating the reduction of social security benefits and the form of irregular employment. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5037.html Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Imperial Japan Japan once expanded its territory to the areas 1 ~ 7 by aggression. It was thanks to its oceanic conditions that it was easy to reach these regions directly by short voyage. The imperialist project was called the Great East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, with the guise of a common wealth centered in Japan. Meanwhile, the state ideology of Japan consistently represented the country as an insular nation, stressing the natural and necessary territoriality and nationhood. As already evident, however, Japan is not an insular but an archipelago, attached to the Asian continent. As the cultural and racial facts prove, it is not pure but heterogeneous entity. In terms of the state’s ambition as well, it sought to annex the entire Asia as a military might in the past and today it seeks to push various free trade agreements as an economic might. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5038.html Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5032.html Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The German government responded to the parliamentary query of the left-wing party ("Die Linke") about the information exchange between Germany and Japan on security issues regarding the G8 Summit. According to the German government, there have been some visits from Germany to Japan and vice versa: The chief of the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) visited Japan in August 2007. Reportedly, he did not give any specific advice to the Japanese, but promised to provide any information necessary to evaluate the security situation in Japan under the premises of the law, especially, in case there was a hint that potentially violent "disquieters" from Germany could join the protests against the G8 Summit in Japan. He also stated that there were no signs yet that the so-called "black block" and other groups would menace the summit in Japan. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5029.html Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 !>http://londonfete.ucrony.net/lander.jpg! *for freedom of movement, the freedom of protest and equal rights for all!* mark in your diary: july 5 2008 On the 5th of July 2008, people all around the world will protest against the G8 summit 2008 in Japan. The G8 is a co-ordination for the interests of Global Capitalism and the wealthy north who benefit from it. Globalisation has created huge movements of people to the centres of capitalism. However whilst capital - money and commodities - has been granted ever-expanding freedom of movement, the movement of workers as migrants is subject to increasingly complex and brutal systems of control. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5021.html Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 From July 7th to 9th, 2008, the G8 summit will be held at Lake Toya, Hokkaido, Japan. Numerous anti-summit actions will take place against this haughty meeting which is trying to monopolize and define the course of the world with the so-called 8 major (Group of 8) countries only. We, too, are disgusted at this absurd meeting. We would like to make spaces of protests, interaction, and solidarity with sounds. This is one of the things we can do to express our disgust. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5017.html Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Leaders of major emitters of greenhouse gases will join those of the Group of Eight countries to discuss climate change on the final day of the G-8 meeting in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, sources said Monday. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5015.html Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *July's G8 gabfest will bring out the worst in Japan — and it won't benefit host Hokkaido* By DEBITO ARUDOU You've probably heard about July's G8 Summit in Toyako, in my home prefecture of Hokkaido. In case you're unfamiliar with the event, here's a primer from the Foreign Affairs Ministry: "The Group of Eight (G8) Summit is an annual meeting attended by . . . Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the President of the European Commission; . . . leaders freely and vigorously exchange opinions on a variety of issues facing the global community, centering on economic and social problems." While I do support people (especially those with armies behind them) talking things over peacefully, let's consider the societal damage this event is wreaking upon its host. International events tend to bring out the worst in Japan. Given the control-freak nature of our bureaucracy — exacerbated manifold when the world is watching — the government opportunely invokes extralegal powers in the name of "security." http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5003.html Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Within their security divisions, each prefectural level police department and the Tokyo police maintain Kidotai, special riot units. These units were formed after riots at the Imperial Palace in 1952, to respond quickly and effectively to large public disturbances. They are also used in crowd control during festival periods, at times of natural disaster, and to reinforce regular police when necessary. Full-time riot police can also be augmented by regular police trained in riot duties. Currently, there are 10,000 in the whole riot force. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/5018.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The Metropolitan Police Department is busily preparing to dispatch more than 1,000 riot police officers to Toyakocho, Hokkaido, where this year's Group of Eight summit meeting is scheduled to be held in less than three months. In addition to summit facilities, important locations in Tokyo also might be targeted by international terrorists, radical antiglobalization movements and other such groups--something that Japan has never before experienced. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4988.html Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Less than 3 months before the beginning of the G8 Summit at Lake Toya, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department - which will send over 1000 riot policemen to the venue of the Summit - also presses ahead with the preparation for the maintenance of security in the Tokyo area. Facing unknown threats like international terrorism and radical antiglobalization movements, the Police Department also consults citizens and former riot policemen given that important facilities in the metropolitan area could become the target of terrorist attacs. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4980.html Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Case 1: Kim Ae Hwa, a representative from the Korean organization "Committee of Asian Women" arrived at Narita Airport on March 7th to participate at an international conference which was planned on the following day by the "Network questioning the G8", a critical group against the G8 Summit at Lake Toya. When she tried to pass the immigration gate around 4:40 pm, she was questioned by the immigration bureau and was refused to enter Japan. Ms. Ae Hwa declared that she was a "CAW member" and wanted to take part at the conference, but the immigration officer considered the purpose of her visit as "unclear" and denied her entry so that she had to fly back to South Korea in the evening of that day. 2 days later on March 9th, Ms. Ae Hwa attempted to enter Narita Airport with her invitation card for the second time. This time, she could enter Japan without any problems and was able to participate at some parts of the conference. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4981.html Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 !>http://www.negritokyo.org/images/banner_dengri.jpg! Lettre aux amis japonais Chers amis, Une serie de circonstances totalement imprevues nous obligent a renoncer a notre voyage au Japon, alors que nous nous faisions une joie immense de ce sejour, des discussions passionnantes et des contacts intellectuels, des echanges et des collaborations que nous imaginions deja. Il y a presque six mois, nous nous etions renseignes avec l'aide precieuse de l'International House of Japan: les citoyens des pays membres de l'Europe ne doivent pas demander un visa d'entree au Japon s'ils n'y gagnent pas de salaire. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4979.html Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Watch Human Rights on Summit - Network of Lawyers observing Human Rights around G8 Summit - CHARTER OF FOUNDATION April 11, 2008 1. Situation around the G8 Summit This year in July, the G8 Summit will be held at Lake Toya in Hokkaido. Conferences related to the G8 will take place all over Japan in cities such as Tokyo, Niigata, Kobe, Yokohama, Aomori, Osaka and Kyoto. Meanwhile, the police have intensified the surveillance of civil movements, e. g., by visiting offices of NGOs, who are planning actions during the summit, and by questioning the members about their activities. Last year, a Korean citizen who was visiting Hachinohe in order to prepare the Peace and Green Boat which was co-organized by Japan and South Korea (600 participants expected) was denied to use the internet in an internet café. We are afraid that in the months ahead, immigration control will be practiced more severely than ever and members of NGOs from abroad who are planning any actions will be refused to enter Japan. Already, some incidents have occured which affirm these concerns: On March 7 of this year, a member of a Korean NGO who intended to visit Japan to participate at a conference was refused to enter Japan at the Narita Airport and was obliged to fly back to South Korea; it was only at her second attempt that she was allowed to enter. Also, a German who tried to enter Otaru Harbour from Russia with a cargo-passenger boat was refused at the border. Recent media reports deal with the police being on high alert as an accomplished fact; critical discussions about such media attitude is – still – nonexistent. In the last years, police authorities of different countries have been suppressing civil movements related to the G8 Summits partly with violence. Attracting the world’s attention as the host of the Summit, Japan might limit civil activities under the pretext of securing the Summit, regardless of whether the civil activities are related to the Summit or not. Therefore, there is a high risk of police controlling and surveilling excessively even the slightest radical civil activities during the Summit or related conferences. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Direct_Action/4978.html Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4970.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Four death row inmates were executed Thursday morning at the Tokyo and Osaka detention houses, the Justice Ministry announced Thursday. A total of 10 condemned prisoners have been executed since Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama took office last year. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4969.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The National Police Agency is hoping application of the hooligan provision of the immigration law will help prevent radical anti-China activists from entering the country as part of efforts to boost security for the Olympic torch relay in Nagano later this month, sources said Thursday. Police officials decided to increase security in Nagano in light of the serious torch relay disruptions seen in Europe and the United States, according to the sources. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4972.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed appeals by three peace activists accused of trespassing in a Self-Defense Forces building in order to distribute antiwar fliers, upholding a lower court decision that sentenced them to fines. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4971.html Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4944.html Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The Japanese government will host some Ministerial meetings before the G8summit in Toyako in July. As a part of the meetings, the G8 DevelopmentMinisterial Meeting is planned in Tokyo on 5-6 April. Those kinds ofMeetings had been held around the same time as the IMF and the WorldBank's annual meetings before 2002. This shows that the Meeting has beenstrongly influenced by major powers and big businesses. G8 countries and transnational companies promoted 'development' in poorcountries, but it causes various problems everywhere such as abuse ofhuman rights, illegitimate debts, and global warming. Nonetheless, theJapanese government the host country does not think seriously about thepast failures. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4907.html Wed, 02 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4882.html Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *Joint Security Training by the Police and Self-Defens Force* At Chitose City on the 17th, units from the Hokkaido Police Headquarters and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force conducted a joint, security training. Under the premise that an armed foreign agent had infiltrated Hokkaido, a team from the Hokkaido Police Headquarters secured the safety of the injured and conducted a search for toxic substance, after which the chemical unit of the Japan Ground Self Defense Force cleaned up the area. The Hokkaido Police Headquarters plan to continue the training for the July Hokkaido Toyako Summit. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4878.html Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *Clips on youtube about denial of entry in Otaru, Japan "1":http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=gzDY5BBZLCA | "2":http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=E20CTzRrafI* Juzhno-Sakhalinsk, 25th March 2008 (publication deadline 5:00 GMT) Giving in to mounting political pressure from prominent human rights activists on the island of Sakhalin, in Moscow, Berlin, New York and Tokyo, the Russian Foreign ministry has finally ended the combined Russian-Japanese deportation arrest of the left antiG8 activist Martin Krämer on 23rd of March at 2:00 GMT. After 14 days of border detention between Japanese and Russian territory, the Berlin based doctor of agricultural science, aged 37, was released on Sunday and granted an unprecedented 10-days-visa to tour the Russian Federation and help in mounting further nationwide support against the G8 military show-down near Sapporo this summer (7.-9.7.08). http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4876.html Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Around 6,000 people attended a rally Sunday in Okinawa amid heavy rain to protest against crimes committed by U.S. soldiers, demanding a revision of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement and the curtailment of U.S. military bases. The rally in the town of Chatan was organized by labor unions and women's civic groups to protest against the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl in the town in February. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4871.html Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Dear friends, This is the 12th day of my combined Japanese-Russian deportation arrest on BM2. The vessel is currently being unloaded which will take little more than 12 hours. We might then load timber. When we are ready for sailing, there will be no sailing permission from FSB for I have neither a Russian visa nor a Japanese guarantee for landing. From this minute onwards all charges of the ship (which might go into millions of US $) will be procured from me personally, as announced triumphantly by the German consular machinery and the ship owner unison. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4872.html Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 SAPPORO, March 21 (AP) - (Kyodo)—About 20,000 police officers, including those from outside the Hokkaido region, are to be deployed to ensure security at the Group of Eight summit to be held in the northernmost Japanese prefecture in July, the Hokkaido police said Friday. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4866.html Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Now, we are planning the split CD (maybe) project called "Punks Against G8" (it's still a tentative name) against the G8 meeting, because the 2008's G8 meeting is held in Toya Lake, Hokkaido Japan. We plan to make this a series. About the first project, the participation of GOTCHA (they are a Japanese anarcho-punks) has been decided already. We post it here as soon as the details are decided. Also please check this info : "NO G8 ACTION JAPAN":http://a.sanpal.co.jp/no-g8/ Fight against G8! Shut them down! Kazu / Acclaim Collective http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/4867.html Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 _An overview of the relationship between leftists and NGOs._ !>/rcms_repos/images/38/indy_jp.png! *The alterglobalization movement in Japan* The forthcoming G8 Summit this year will be held between July 7th and 9th in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. The related ministerial conferences will be held in various parts of the country between March and June. For example in the Kansai area (Western Japan), * the meeting of the Ministers of Environmental Affairs will take place between May 24th and 26th in Kobe, * the Ministers of Financial Affairs will meet on June 13th and 14th in Osaka, and * the Ministers of Foreign Affairs will meet on June 26th and 27th in Kyoto. Since the beginning of this year, NGOs, Leftists, trade unions, green political parties etc. have organized several events and networks concerning the G8 meeting. The position of these networks and organizations range widely from those opposing the G8 (mainly the Leftists) to those offering opinions and alternative ways of the G8 (mainly NGOs). Research on such Global Movements (including “anti-globalization movements”, “alter-globalization movements”, “alterglobal movements”, “globalization movements”, “transnational activists”…) has identified various actors such as NGOs, Leftists, trade unions, environmental movements, women’s movements, and farmers’ collectives. In Japan, Leftist movements (new lefts and their several sects), dating back to the 60s, still have a strong influence within (social) movements sector of Japan. However, due to their violent past during the 70’s [1] and subsequent struggles among sects, even now NGOs are reluctant to work with the Leftists. Then, in the case of Japan how do the various actors work together? http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4868.html Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4857.html Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 March 14, 2008, Japanese Immigration Bureau refused entry of and deported a German activist Martin Kramer who came to Japan to participate in anti-G8 summit at Lake Toya held in this coming July. Martin came to Japan to tell his experience of anti-G8 at Heiligendamm to Japanese movements and deepen exchange with people who share his anger against G8. We, No! G8 Action, condemn unjust response of Japanese government, and demand the following: http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4853.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 !>/rcms_repos/images/18/teiko_128.png!:http://www.teiko.info A group of libertarian activists from Russia transmit information about the resistance against the summit of G8. Traditionally, the summit is to be hold by in one of these eight countries, which participate to the informal club G8 – this year it’s Japan’s turn. This site is about the resistance, and that is how the word 抵抗 is to be translated from Japanese. Usually at the summits leaders decides about lobbying of laws, which allow multinational corporations lead the neo-liberal economical policy, which strengthen the social disparity and cause enormous damage to the nature. In the same time, the decisions are shown as humanistic, essential and as if they work in aim to solve the global problems in the world. The main discussions are hold strictly closed from all journalists or other observers, so we can only guess, what kind of topics are to be discussed and how by the economical leaders of the world. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4854.html Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 _A symposium was held last weekend at Hokkaido University to highlight the contributions of citizens media to summit reporting and the role of media centers._ !>/rcms_repos/images/38/indy_jp.png! The event was organized by the G8 Shimin Media Center Pre-Establishment Working Group （G８市民メディアセンター設立準備会）with cooperation from Hokkaido U faculty and the G8 Media Network and had been announced on the second page of the Hokkaido Shinbun, the major local newspaper. About 30 people attended, many saying (in a survey) they were 'highly interested' in alternative media. NHK, the local public service broadcasters reported afterwards. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4852.html Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *14/03/2008* (by Esperanto League)) The name of the ship which he gets on now is "BM2". The ship heads up to Korsakov port of Sakhalin. The date of arrival in Sakhalin is 15/3/2008 3:00 (Local time in Sakhalin time). !>http://ikd.ru/images/image/sudno-port.jpg! *14/03/2008* (by Gipfelsoli) Martin landed with a vessel at Otaro port on March 10th where the Japanese Immigration Office did not allow him to enter the country, ignoring that the carried all documents needed. Official reasons were that he would have no return-ticket and not enough money. Martin was invited by Esperanto League from Sapporo that confirmed this towards the authorities. They tried to put pressure on the Immigration Office with the help of some activists, a lawyer and a member of the german embassy in Tokyo. The Immigration Office forced him to leave the country yesterday (Thursday). He is now an a ship going back to Russia. His russian Visa is not valid anymore. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4848.html Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 _Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:05am EDT_ TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's immigration authorities denied an anti-globalization activist from Germany entry at a port near the venue for the July Group of Eight summit, Kyodo news agency reported on Friday. Quoting his supporters, Kyodo said German activist Martin Kraemer, 37, was denied entry to Japan after arriving aboard a freighter at a port on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on Monday. He has filed an objection with the immigration authorities and has remained on the freighter awaiting a response, the report said. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4842.html Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 A South Korean civic group leader who was barred from entering Japan last week was allowed entry at Narita airport Saturday after her exclusion spurred public criticism. Kim Ae Hwa, a representative from the Committee for Asian Women, was able to take part in a forum in Tokyo later in the day organized by Asian nongovernmental organizations. The forum was held to discuss regional disparities and the protection of farmers in developing countries before the Group of Eight summit opens in July in Hokkaido, participants said. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4837.html Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *After leaving Russian FSB detention, left activists is returned to sea by Sapporo authorities* Sapporo-Otaru. 10.03.08 – 13:00 GMT: The German left activist Dr. Martin Kraemer has been refused landing in the port of Sapporo-Otaru. He has been condemned by Japanese authorities to remain stay put on the Panama vessel BM-2, which had brought him from Sakhalin on Friday, 7th of March. “Just released from special confinement by the Russian political police FSB, it’s now the Japanese repressive forces who try to top them. In Russia, I got kicked and received an official death threat in custody, but this is worse,” says Martin: “Today’s blow against Japanese dignity set in before I could even open my mouth in this splendid country.” The surprising decision by Japanese immigration officers was announced today after receiving central instructions at 16:00 o’clock local time (8:00 GMT). At that time, Dr. Kraemer had already spent 66 hours waiting in the port of Otaru to get landing permission. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4883.html Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 U.S. Delegate Summit Lodging Preparations Underwaytitle Thursday, January 17, 2008 Next, the Hokkaido-Toyako G8 Summit which is half a year away. Noboribetsu, an onsen(hot spring) town next to Toyako, has been chosen to be where U.S. delegates will lodge during the summit and, preparations to usher in the delegates have begun. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4834.html Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *Independent Media Centre Sapporo Preparatory Working Group* * E-mail: imcsapporo@gmail.com Web * site: "http://imc-sapporo.blogspot.com":http://imc-sapporo.blogspot.com 9 March, 2008 We are pleased to launch the Independent Media Centre Sapporo (IMC) Preparatory Working Group. This Group is working to establish IMC in Sapporo for the Hokkaido Toyako G8 summit. The first Indymedia project was organized at the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle, Washington. Since then, IMCs have been established at various key international meetings. We are proud of IMC Sapporo’s establishment especially since this is the first time for us to experience IMC in Japan. The following is our space plan for the Independent Media: http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4826.html Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Hey, all the comrades of anarchists, activists and ultras in Europe!!! Here is the Rage and Football Collective in Japan! As you know, the 34th G8 Summit is to take place in Toyako(Hokkaido), Japan, from 7th to 9th of July 2008. So we, ultras and anarchists around Japan, have also decided to unite, stand up and fight against G8 together with one philosohy, that is. Love football. Hate G8!! http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4833.html Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The Model G8 Youth Summit (abbr. the Model G8) is a simulated diplomatic conference organized and executed by students and youths from around the world. The Model G8 was first established in 2006 as a means to organize the results of discussions held by students prior to the actual G8 Summit, and presenting these conclusions as an alternative voice to international society. That April, the first Summit was held in St.Petersburg, Russia, with delegations consisting of eight members each representing a G8 country, along with EU and UN representatives. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4824.html Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 TOKYO - JAPAN said on Friday it would use solar electricity panels and air conditioners using snow to make an eco-friendly media centre at this year's summit of the Group of Eight rich nations. Japan said it hoped to make the July 7-9 summit in Toyako, a mountain resort on the northern island of Hokkaido, carbon-neutral - meaning on a net level it would produce zero carbon emissions blamed for global warming. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4827.html Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 A clash between the crew of the Sea Shepherd vessel Steve Irwin, who is in the Southern Ocean to fight the ongoing Japanese whaling sloughter near the Antarctic, turned violent when the Japanese Coast Guard began to throw flash grenades at its crew. Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd ship was struck by a bullet in the chest. Fortunately, the bullet was stopped by his Kevlar vest. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4816.html Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 3rd of March Martin Kramer was arrested by police of the city of Vanino in Habarovsk region in Russian Far East, and was beaten up by the FSB agents. Martin is a German citizen, who is coordinating travel of activists to counter-summit against G8 in Japan in summer of 2008. He was about to travel to Sakhalin island by a boat. Martin was accused of carrying "extremist" and "secret" documents. Around 10 AM Martin and his acquaintance from Nahodka bought tickets to a boat to Sakhalin. While they were waiting for boat, they were approached by police. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4810.html Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000 EngageMedia is a video sharing site focusing on social justice and environmental issues in South East Asia, Australia and the Pacific. It is a space for critical documentary, fiction, artistic and experimental works that challenge the dominance of the mainstream media. The growth of digital distribution tools mean distributing video online has become a viable option for artists and activists looking for ways to get their work out there. Huge potential exists within these new technologies to bypass the control of big media conglomerates and create our own distribution channels. EngageMedia aims to demystify and provide access to these new technologies, create an online archive of independent video productions using open content licenses and form a peer network of video makers, educators and screening organisations. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4811.html Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The government is inviting leaders from 16 countries to Japan in the summer for one of the largest top-level meetings ever on global warming, sources said. The gathering will be held on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit, which is scheduled for July 7 through 9 at the Lake Toyako resort in Hokkaido. In addition to the G-8 leaders, the participants for the global warming talks will come from China, India, South Africa, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and Indonesia, the sources said. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4803.html Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *Captain Paul Watson Responds to the Yomiuri Shimbun* _This article was published on February 21st in the Japanese language newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. Captain Paul Watson responds to the misinformation in the story._ Yomiuri Shimbun: The police are becoming increasingly concerned that environmental and anti-globalization groups from the United States and Europe may try to disrupt July's Group of Eight summit meeting in Toyakocho, Hokkaido. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4783.html Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Resisting Free Trade, Militarism and Fighting for Real Solutions to Climate Change The G8 Summit will be held this year from July 7-9 in Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan. This will be a culmination of a series of ministerial preparation meeting beginning in March. The G8 Action Network, a network of various Japanese organizations and movements, is calling on all social movements, peasant organizations, women, migrants, urban and rural poor, fisherfolks and civil society from all over the world who are resisting free trade in its many forms, war and militarism, the privatization of essential services and natural resources, illegitimate debt and the domination of global finance, and fighting for and building real people based solutions to global warming, to come and join us in the week of action against the G8 here in Japan. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4807.html Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 This coming July 7, Japan will host a three-day Summit of G8 nations at Lake Toya, within the scenic confines of Shikotsu-Toya National Park in southern Hokkaido. What better time, asks Shukan Taishu (Feb. 18), for al-Qaida terrorists to launch a strike against Japan? Of course terrorism won't be the sole security problem. "The meeting's isolated venue will make it easier for police to keep watch, but extreme radical groups are constantly mobilizing, and I can foresee foreign agitators going on rampages," predicts Buntaro Kuroi, editor of the military affairs magazine World Intelligence. He points out that at the June 2008 G8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, about 1,000 demonstrators were arrested. To augment the 20,000 police, Shukan Taishu notes other measures are being mulled, including a Self Defense Forces battery of PAC3 ground-to-air missiles to guard against a 9/11-style air attack. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4795.html Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 GO HIRASAWA is lecturer of film studies at the Tokyo University and a media activist. Very recently, he has coordinated the retrospective of the Japanese director Koji Wakamatsu at the international film festival Berlinale. Taz: Mr. Hirasawa, you were in Heiligendamm during the G8-summit last year. How did you find the protests? Go Hirawasa: There were ten people from Japan taking part at the protest. Especially, the camps were a special experience for us. There were so many people from all over the world; that was a wonderful opportunity to exchange information and to discuss. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4792.html Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 *An interview done over e-mail by Indymedia Scotland gives more information about the state of the Japanese G8 mobilization. Another more in-depth audio interview will be done after at the actual presentation itself and posted on Indymedia Scotland.* _Can you help describe to what group you are with and what you are doing on tour?_ The Japan-based network of anti-authoritarians and anarchists, No! G8 Action was formed in May 2007, right before the G8 2007 in Rostock, where it learned from the European anti-G8 protest. Then it began to prepare its own projects. One of its focuses has been a coalition-building called G8 Action Network which connects various types of radical groups and coordinates with certain NGOs for certain projects. Now it strives for bringing Japanese and East Asian impetus into the stage of the global anti-capitalist struggle. The info-tour is part of the effort. It has previously visited South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Australia, New York, Montreal, and Toronto. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4806.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 OSAKA — While officials of the Group of Eight countries are busy preparing for this year's summit in Japan, the country's major nongovernmental organizations are also gearing up for the event, which will culminate when world leaders meet in Lake Toya, Hokkaido, in early July. The leaders of Japan, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Russia are expected to address four areas of concern: global warming and climate change, African aid, economic issues, including oil prices, and nuclear nonproliferation. NGOs are expected to play a big role at the summit, and the 2008 Japan G8 NGO Forum, which groups various NGOs, will be presenting their views on a range of issues to participating governments and the international media. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4773.html Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The government plans to set up a 55-kilometer no-fly zone around the Lake Toyako resort in Hokkaido and strengthen other anti-terrorism measures during the Group of Eight summit in July, sources said. The government will deploy Air Self-Defense Force aircraft equipped with the Airborne Warning and Control System and the Maritime SDF's P-3C anti-submarine patrol aircraft around the venue. It will also use the SDF's radar network to detect early signs of a terrorist attack. If there is any threat of terrorism, the government will immediately evacuate summit participants from the venue, the sources said. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4772.html Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 We are a network of independent media groups in Japan. We have started our collaboration to gather and broadcast as many aspects of civil activities that will take place before and during the period of the G8 Toya-ko Summit scheduled July 7-9, 2008, Hokkaido, Japan. Currently we plan to build an Independent Media Center (IMC) near the G8 Summit site, with internet-connected computers and ideally video and audio studios equipped with editing and broadcasting facilities. The center welcomes media groups from within Japan and abroad who want to use these facilities. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Skills/4780.html Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4778.html Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4754.html Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 INFOTOUR DATES/LOCATION (subject to change, will be updating as locations become confirmed | update March 26th) Europe tour schedule: 28 Mar. Malmo (Sweden), Cafe Glassfabriken 29 Mar. Gothenburg (Sweden) 31 Mar. Stockholm (Sweden), Kaf4 44 01 Apr. Oslo (Norway), Humla, Hausmania http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4774.html Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum and G8 Summit Citizen Forum Hokkaido are co-organizing Alternative Summit (another summit organized by citizens) around the time of Toyako Summit. More details will be announced later. Alternative Summit Organizers: 2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum / G8 Summit Citizen Forum Hokkaido Date: July 6 - July 8, 2008 Location: Sapporo, Hokkaido (may be at Sapporo Convention Center) http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4812.html Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 SAPPORO (Kyodo) The Hokkaido Prefectural Government plans to punish its chief of staff for the Group of Eight summit preparations because he dined and drank with senior employees of the company hired to operate the Web site for the event, officials said. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4737.html Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4726.html Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000 What is G8 summit? The 2008 G8 summit is a summit meeting held by the heads of state from the 8 main countries (USA, UK, Italy, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and Russia) from 7th to 9th July in Hokkaido, Japan. Until then, various ministerial conferences including the Environment Ministers’ conference (Kobe), the Foreign Ministers’ conference (Kyoto) and the Finance Ministers’ conference (Osaka) has been held in different parts of Japan. This summit is annually organized by the 8 countries above. The 2007 summit was held in Heiligendamm, Germany.　 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4777.html Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 We are against the G8 Summit at Lake Toya and do not condoneneo-liberal globalization. (By neo-liberalism, we are identifying themovement to abolish various restrictions to capital toward alaissez-faire modus operandi. While the world becomes a cross-bordermarket via this kind of globalization and powerful companies inpowerful states amass more and more power, many people in the worldare forced to live in starvation and poverty, and are subject to grossdestruction of their livelihood.) http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/4558.html Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 The G8 Summit will take place between the 7th and 9th of July. Our action days will begin on the 1st of July. There will be a series of themed demos in Sapporo during succeeding four days. July 5th shall be the day of mass rally and demo in Sapporo. We propose to make it the international day of action, calling a simultaneous protest in different cities of the world. During the three days of the Summit we are planning mass direct action at sites near Lake Toya. People are trying to approach the site as close as possible to send their voices. Our presentation consists of following contents: (1) Action Plans (2) About the projects (3) Facilities for foreign visitors (4) Japanese police behavior and Immigration situations (5) call out http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4718.html Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 In July 2008, heads of the states that monopolize two thirds of the earth’s wealth will gather at Lake Toya in Hokkaido Japan. The so-called G8 is embodiment of the global governance that has consistently driven neo-liberal reformation at the same time as spreading poverty, violence, hatred, segregation, and environmental destruction across the globe. We can no longer let it continue. The Japan based network of anti-authoritarians and anarchists, No! G8 Action was formed in May 2007, right before the G8 2007 in Rostock, where it learned from the European anti-G8 protest. Then it began to prepare its own projects. One of its focuses has been a coalition-building called G8 Action Network which connects various types of radical groups and coordinates with certain NGOs for certain projects. Now it strives for bringing Japanese and East Asian impetus into the stage of the global anti-capitalist struggle. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4690.html Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 TOKYO (AFP) — Japan said Friday it would look at how to better guard against extremists at the upcoming Group of Eight summit after a standoff with militant anti-whaling activists in the Antarctic Ocean. Japan late Thursday handed to Australia two activists who had boarded the whaling ship in a protest against Japan's annual hunt, which is opposed by most Western countries. Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said that Japan "must closely review the case" of the two-day whaling showdown with the militants of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4648.html Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 News from NO! G8 Action Japan regarding the negative campaign towards the anti-G8 movement, which is being labeled as extremists/terrorists by the police and mass media in Japan. Sapporo City is the largest city in the area which the next G8 Japan will take place. It is about a two-hour drive to Lake Toya, where the actual site will be. Sapporo is the city where demos and symposiums are planned to be held proir to the G8 Summit. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4647.html Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 Japan's defence ministry is considering the possibility of deploying Patriot-3 missiles around the venue where the next summit meet of the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialised countries are to be held, media reports said Wednesday. The missiles could be deployed at bases of the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) around the summit site located beside the Toya Lake of northern Japan's Hokkaido prefecture, the Industrial and Economic News daily reported. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4615.html Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:00:00 +0000 TOKYO - The Justice Ministry has begun preparations to put into force a hooligan provision of the immigration law to prevent anti-globalization activists from entering the country to protest the Group of Eight summit meeting to be held in Hokkaido in July. Relevant ministries and agencies will discuss criteria for defining anti-globalization activists, to whom the provision will be applied for the first time, and seek additional information from other countries. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4609.html Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 December 20, 2007. The original proposal of the fiscal 2008 made by Finance ministry, which was approved by the cabinet meeting on the morning of December 20th, contains 31.9 billion yen in total related to Lake Toya G8 summit. The total 15.5 billion yen budget is allocated to the precaution/security expense related to the National Police Agency and the material facilities for the large scale disaster. While the security measures around Lake Toya will be set up by police units ordered up from all over the country, it will take precautions against demonstrations and riots by anti-globalization activist forces from foreign countries and keep a careful watch over the Tokyo metropolitan area. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4610.html Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 As the clock ticks down to the summit talks of the Group of Eight major countries to be held at the Lake Toya resort in Hokkaido in July, the Metropolitan Police Department plans to start a training program to enhance young officers' security skills with the help of veteran officers who have served in the MPD's riot police units, it has been learned. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4608.html Tue, 25 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000 !>http://a.sanpal.co.jp/no-g8/mt/archives/071117_1ww-thumb.jpg! On November 17, as part of the continuing actions of the anti-G8 movement against the 2008 G8 Summit, which is scheduled to be held in Lake Toya, Hokkaido, Japan next July, a group of protesters held a protest against the Italian Embassy in Tokyo. This action was held in solidarity with the international protests against the extreme and unjust attacks waged by the state of Italy through demands of excessive punishment against 25 activists who were arrested during the 2001 G8 Genoa protests. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Genua_2001/4561.html Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4607.html Sat, 17 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 *To Prime Minister of the Republic of Italy, Mr. Romano Prodi\ To Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Mario Bova* We hereby strongly protest against the repression and attacks waged by the state of Italy through demands of high punishment towards the 2001 G8 Genoa protests. Six years after the G8 Summit protests in Genoa, a number of court cases against demonstrators and members of the police force are still taking place. The cases against police officers and Carabinieri are being stalled in order to take advantage of the statute of limitation that will soon expire. In the cases against the 25 activists the state prosecutors, Canepa and Canciani are displaying full force. There have never been such high sentence demands for street clashes. The witnesses have all been heard. In its plea the state prosecution is demanding jail sentences between 6 and 16 years, a total of 225 years. With these convictions they intend to write history as: 'Let's call Genoa what it was: looting and destruction. Last week the Government in Rome ordered compensation claims against the 25 charged. These claims total 2.6 million Euros for the property damage that occurred, for example, at the Marassi prison. Included in this is a large sum intended as compensation for the image loss the city of Genoa is said to have suffered. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4385.html Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 November 2, 2007 We, THE ESPERANTO LEAGUE for FREEDOM in HOKKAIDO, make an appeal world-wide to the Esperantists, the Esperanto learners and our friends for participating in our collective protest against the 2008 G8 Summit. Our anti-G8 movement would not only take place internationally here in Hokkaido, but also spread all over the world. It was arranged that the leaders of the eight dominant countries, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan, assembled at Lake Toya in Hokkaido, JAPAN to attend the Summit , 7th –9th July 2008. The G8 Summit is an informal forum to gain the international capital profit and accelerate globalization (the big capital expansion). This globalization brings about so much suffering for a lot of people such as the labors, the farmers and the indigenous people in the world. We must mention that Hokkaido, where the meeting will be held the next year, is known as one of the Japanese colonies that the government has still retained even postwar. In addition, this region has a crucial history that the indigenous Ainu people, who had settled there a long time ago, have been forced to assimilate since the Japanese invaded. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4379.html Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4044.html Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4338.html Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 My Dearest Friends, I am just back from a trip to Korea and Japan. No! G8 Action Japan, and two members of the info-tour group from Germany, and I went to Seoul and Tokyo, where we gave presentations in universities and activist spaces and had meetings with various types of activists. Subsequently, the rest of the group extended their itinerary to Hokkaido, Osaka, Kyoto, and Yokohama, before returning to Tokyo to conclude the tour in Japan. Then one went back to Europe, while the other and one person from No! G8 Action departed for South East Asia. The information on the tours is on this website: "http://gipfelsoli.org/Home/Hokkaido_2008":http://gipfelsoli.org/Home/Hokkaido_2008. By touring with the European activists closely, we Japanese learned their experiences in Europe. And both sides were able to collaboratively act upon organizing people in different places, with the perspectives of past and future. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4316.html Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 To learn about political struggles in the past: Many links to historic films (_on youtube_) about social movements in Japan in the 60ies and 70ies. See strikes, riots, evictions and heavy battles with police. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4292.html Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Tonight there was an Info-evening in Cottbus, Germany at the "radical space":http://www.revolutionaeres-sz2007.de.vu of the "German Social Forum":http://www.sfid.info. The event was made by someone from the German Infotour group who had just returned from the Japan anti-G8 Infotour. Actually, there was one small presentation at the official Social Forum as well, made after a film and discussion about G8 2007. From one report, the 2007 discussion with NGO's was actually quite boring, but at the end the new Japanese "2008 G8 mobilisation film":http://indymedia.nl/nl/2007/10/47797.shtml was shown and it was a highlight of the whole discussion. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4285.html Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Here you find a new video made by Indepent Media Activists for the mobilization for G8 2008 in Japan. The summit should take place at lake Toya, 2 hours away from Sapporo, located at the half-island Hokkaido: "http://indymedia.nl/media/2007/10//47799.mp4":http://indymedia.nl/media/2007/10//47799.mp4 (0:02:45, mp4) http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4214.html Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 [Infotour Working Group | Gipfelsoli Infogroup] Press Release Saturday 6th October 2007 * Infotour in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong This week, activists from the "Infotour Working Group" embarked on their trip to Asia. A number of meetings and events are planned to foster closer contact between the Anti-G8 protest movements in Asia and Europe. At the beginning of July 2008 the G8 summit will take place in Hokkaido. In Japan, a coalition of counter-globalisation, anarchist and ecological groups are preparing protests and actions. Also in Europe there are calls for resistance to the summit. The "Infotour Working Group" of the radical left "Dissent network" organised hundreds of information events in Europe in preparation for the 2007 G8 summit. These mobilisations contributed to the broad protest movement in Heiligendamm. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/4210.html Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 [AG Infotour | Gipfelsoli Infogruppe] Pressemitteilung 5. Oktober 2007 * Internationale Vorbereitung für G8 in Japan * Infotour in Japan, Korea, Singapur, Phillipinen, Taiwan und Hong Kong Eine Gruppe der „AG Infotour“ ist diese Woche nach Asien aufgebrochen. Auf zahlreichen Treffen und Veranstaltungen soll der Kontakt zwischen der G8-Protestbewegung in Asien und Europa intensiviert werden. Anfang Juli 2008 soll der G8-Gipfel auf der japanischen Halbinsel Hokkaido stattfinden. In Japan bereitet ein Bündnis von globalisierungskritischen, anarchistischen und umweltpolitischen Gruppen Proteste und Aktionen vor. Auch in Europa wird zu Widerstand aufgerufen. Die „AG Infotour“ des linksradikalen „Dissent-Netzwerk“ führte im Vorfeld des G8 2007 mehrere Hundert Informationsveranstaltungen in ganz Europa durch. Diese Form der Mobilisierung hatte zur breiten Protestbewegung in Heiligendamm beigetragen. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4179.html Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Just a brief report from Asia anti-G8 infotour: Our Japanese friends have organised a great tour for our German anti-G8 Infotour group. We arrived in Korea just 48 hours ago, but already we all have met with 2 radical academic research/institutes, as well as a radical publisher, done interviews with an 85 year old anarchist who spent 10 years in prison, an activist/musician who squatted a house in a village where the US Army wanted to build their biggest base in Asia (they see China as a big threat so the USA says it needs a big base in the region), another video interview with a woman who councils migrant/trafficked women who are sex-worders serving US GI's, and have made two very succesful presentations as well as having video taped a local demonstration and a cooperative research institute. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4135.html Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4134.html Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000 The Japanese people are also making major preparations for their mobilisation against the G8. They are kicking things off with their own infotour, going soon to two cities in Australia. Two from the German Infotour group will go to asia in about a month, going to about 6 cities in Japan, plus S. Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong (host of last WTO + WTO protests). We will be presenting at a number of academic symposia, plus at a few rallies across Japan where a number of speakers are schedules. Apparently the plan is also to do IMC interviews as well as meet with some alternative/lefty press. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4207.html Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000 G8 Summit will be held in Hokkaido, Japan from July-7th to 9th 2008. As an counter-event, people are planning/organizing People’s Forum G8 summit in Sapporo, Hokkaido on Sep. 21 2008, and in Tokyo people have launched a committee of 2008 G8 Summit-NGO Forum. It is urgently needed to set a broader alternative media network to connect groups and movements along with these alternative events. Prior to this, ‘G8 alternative Media Committee’ was launched by independent-concerned people. During the first meeting, it was suggested to materialize all plants/actions of common platforms held nationally-internationally in order to broadcast freely as many perspectives as there exist. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4086.html Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0000 We protest the visit of the director of the German Federal Criminal Police Office, Jörg Ziercke, and the chief of the State Security Agency, Kraus Bittling, whose purpose is to crush the anti-G8 movement by sharing information about the arrestees at Heiligendamm and their list of anti-globalization movements with the Japanese authorities. We denounce their unjust collusion and demand withdrawal of the given information. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/4045.html Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Laura Sunderland Senior Researcher, G8 Research Group July 3, 2007 This prospective G8 2008 Summit Agenda is compiled by the G8 Research Group from public sources as an aid to researchers and other stakeholders interested in 2008 Hokkaido Summit. It will be updated periodically as plans for the 2008 Summit evolve and as more information becomes available about its intended and actual agenda. G8 Summit, Lake Toya, Hokkaido, Japan: July 7-9, 2008 On June 12, 2007, BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific reported that the government has officially decided that the 2008 Summit will be held July 7-9.[1] On May 19, 2007. Kyodo News reported that the summit will be held from July 7-9, 2008.[2] Abe stated that the summit will officially be called the "Hokkaido-Toyako Summit" in Japanese.[3] According to Kyodo News, "Government sources said the official name came as a compromise between the prefectural government calling for the "Hokkaido Summit" and the town government favoring the "Toyako Summit." It is still unknown what Japan will officially call the summit in English."[4] On April 24, 2007, Jiji Press English News Service reported that the Japanese government plans to host the summit in July, 2008.[5] On April 16, 2007, Agence France Presse (among other sources) reported that the Japanese summit will focus on global warming and African development.[6] See also "Japan Selects Hokkaido for 2008 Summit." http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/3974.html Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 +0000 Jorg Ziercke (L), president of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, shakes hands with Japan's National Police Agency head Iwao Uruma (R) at the agency in Tokyo on Aug. 13. Ziercke paid a courtesy call on Uruma after senior officials of the German police office and their Japanese counterparts discussed security measures for the Group of Eight summit to be held in July next year at the Lake Toya hot-spa resort area in Hokkaido. (Kyodo Aug. 13 TOKYO, Japan) http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/3386.html Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0000 In July 2008, heads of the states that monopolize two thirds of earth’s wealth will gather at Toya Lake in Hokkaido Japan. Although the so-called Group of Eight does not have any legitimate right for deciding planetary affairs, they have self-appointed themselves world ruler. Thus the G8 has driven neo-liberal globalization at the same time as spreading poverty, violence, hatred, segregation, and environmental destruction. At a very critical moment of world capitalism during the 1970s, the G8 was established to form a consensus among the imperialist nation-states. Ever since it has become the cornerstone of the neo-liberalist globalization that we are confronting. The ‘consensus’ signifies nothing short of finding out the most convenient means of driving global financialization, privatization, commercialization, and militarization and camouflaging these processes as if they were for the public well-being. In the past the G8 has expressed concerns about human rights and poverty. German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed the need for a human-faced globalization. But then, who is it that violates human rights on the pretext of the “fight against terrorism”? Who is it that is eliminating public education the world over? Who is it that privatizes almost all the resources left for humanity - land, water, and food - and preys on the increasing global poverty? Who is it that produces and exports more than 90% of the world’s weaponry? At the 2007 summit in Heiligendamm, one of the main themes was the poverty in Africa, but what they proposed as a measure to combat it was, shockingly, the deregulation of investment in Africa. From its behavior we have learned that for the G8, even human rights and poverty are just another opportunity for capitalists’ expropriation. http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/2946.html Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/2947.html Sun, 03 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/1826.html Sat, 19 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/2950.html Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 +0000 http://gipfelsoli.org//Hokkaido_2008/Hokkaido_2008/2949.html Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:00:00 +0000