Heavy security operation launched for G8

Japan has called out more than 20,000 police officers, mobilised the coast guard and reportedly even conducted flyovers with fighter jets in a stringent security operation for the G8 summit.

So fearful is the government of incident or attack that cities as far away as Tokyo have also been under tight security for more than a week.

“We have three policies: be visible, be ready and keep the pressure on,” a senior police official in charge of security told public broadcaster NHK.

Virtually no one but the G8 leaders and their handlers are being allowed anywhere near the actual summit venue, which is at a secluded lakeside hot springs resort deep in the forests of Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

Media, for the most part, are an hour’s drive away and must rely on closed-circuit TV to glimpse the proceedings.

However, the policy has created a strange byproduct.

While so far maintaining calm at the summit site, the intense security effort has funnelled everything from flag-waving right-wing extremists to loudspeaker-wielding Marxist labour unions onto the bewildered streets of Sapporo, which is the largest city on Hokkaido and is a safe 60 miles from where the summit is being held.

“It’s outrageous,” said Yoshie Yonezawa, a former schoolteacher who took part in a largely peaceful rally that drew about 200 leftist union members – who were herded by about 300 riot police in full battle gear. “Where are they hiding?”

About 2,500 protesters turned out on Saturday and four – including a television cameraman – were detained after a brief melee with police.

Officials say they need to be vigilant because the G8 summits have a history of being targeted.