World G8 Japan 2008 Feature Archive

The G8 2008 took place in Hokkaido, Japan, from July 7th to July 9th. As in the past years, people from all over the world protested against this summit and the capitalist system it represents [Pics] both in Japan and in many places around the globe.

On Saturday the 5th of July, the International Day of Action Against the G8, there were protests worldwide against this year's G8 Summit. In Japan, around 5000 people took to the streets in Sapporo despite ongoing police repression [Photos | Videos 1 | 2 | 3 | 4] whilst hundreds of people had previously taken to the streets in Tokyo and Kyoto. International solidarity actions also took place in several cities, including Bilbao, Stuttgart [Video], Dordrecht, Nijmegen, Paris, Singapore, Berlin, Reykjavik and Lisbon.

Closer to home, a picket outside the Japanese embassy in London took place on Friday the 4th, and for Saturday the 5th, and despite previous harassment by the Metropolitan police, a London Fete Against the G8 was called by London No Borders and other groups to demonstrate in solidarity with the protests in Japan, for the Freedom of Movement, and against Fortress Europe. The Day of Action around the UK Borders Agency started with a Critical Mass bike ride from Brixton to Croydon, the nerve centre of the Home Office's UK Border Agency, where several protests unfolded [Report | Photos 1 | 2 | Video]

From Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th, further days of action and blockades continued around the Summit location next to the Lake Toya in Hokkaido [Videos 1 | 2 | 3] A final statement by international activists was issued on Wednesday 9th after hundreds of activists joined a march called by the Hokkaido's Ainu indigenous communities. This was the concluding event of ten days of anti-G8 protests in Japan. The Japanese 'No! G8 Legal Team' issued an international call for further solidarity actions during the week of blockades [Second Call]. In London, a daily NO!G8 cafe was organised at the Bowl Court Social Centre to coincide with the G8 mobilisations, showing daily footage from Japan, screening films, presentations and discussions.

Check the Ticker, the G8MediaNetworkTV and IMC-Japan [Timeline (Eng)] for updates of worldwide actions and protests.

Related Newswire Posts: End G8 Domination! | Challenge to the G8 Governments | G8 summit marked by impotence and division | James Hansen's Appeal to the G8 on Climate Change | No! G8 Japan Info Tour Comes to UK | An update on Japan G8 repression - 40 people arrested! | Repression and Revolt in the run up to G8 Japan | Interview with Japanese anti-G8 activist | Preparation for the Japanese anti-G8 movements in 2008 | Japanese Government to Keep ‘Hooligans’ Away from Summit

Related Sites: No G8! Japan | G8 Action Network | Gipfelsoli.org | Debito.org | WATCH (Watch Human Rights on Summit) |

G8 2007 | G8 2006 | G8 2005 | UK IMC G8 2005 Topic

The next G8 2008 summit will take place from the 7th to the 9th of July in Hokkaido, Japan. The heads of the world's more powerful states will gather at Toya Lake in the nothern Japanese island, to push further an agenda of world-wide neo-liberal reforms that result in spreading poverty, violence, hatred, segregation, as well as social and environmental destruction across the globe.

The Japanese based network of anti-authoritarians and anarchists No! G8 Action was formed in May 2007, right before the G8 summit 2007 in northern Germany. Japanese activists got involved in the protests with the intention to network with and learn from the experiences of the European anti-G8 movement. As a result they began to prepare their own projects "hoping to bring Japanese and East Asian impetus into the stage of the global anti-capitalist struggle."

Now, the 'No! G8 Action' network, in collaboration with the German Dissent! info group, and together with groups and activists across Europe, have organised an european wide tour that will stop in over 30 cities in 14 different countries, including the UK. From the 22nd to the 28th of February, Japanese activists will visit Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Nottingham and London [See tour dates and locations]

Related links: Call for Anti-G8 Action July 2008 | Statement of the Anti-G8 Summit Hokkaido | G8 2008: Latest Info-Tour and Planning Updates | Japanese Government to Keep 'Hooligans' Away from Summit | Anti-repression Protest at the Italian Embassy in Tokyo | A short history of the G8... | The G8: A Study in Power (or why people should protest)

See also: NO! G8 Action | Japan G8 Media Network | IMC-Japan | G8 Action Network (jp) | Hokkaido G8 Summit Citizen Forum (jp) | Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum