NHK International welcomes the G8 Summit.

NHK International welcomes the G8 Summit.
We will be managing the International Broadcasting Center.
SPECIAL FEATURE
JULY 7-9, 2008
SPECIAL FEATURE: G8 HOKKAIDO TOYOKO SUMMIT
G8 Members
Japan
United States of America
United Kingdom
French Republic
Federal Republic of Germany
Italian Republic
Canada
Russian Federation
European Union
Other Participants
People’s Republic of China
India
Federative Republic of Brazil
United Mexican States
Republic of South Africa
Commonwealth of Australia
Republic of Korea
Republic of Indonesia
United Republic of Tanzania
Socialist Ethiopia
Republic of Ghana
Republic of Senegal
SPECIAL FEATURE
People's Democratic Republic of Algeria
G8 HOKKAIDO TOYAKO SUMMIT
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Arab Republic of Egypt
From Okinawa to Toyako: Welcoming more countries
For the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit in 2000,
Japan initiated and facilitated closer dial o g u e b y a r r a n g i n g m e e t i n g s i n To k y o
between leaders of developing nations and
international organizations. With rapid globalization, Japan believes that strengthening
partnerships with non-G8 countries, international organizations, and NGOs as the key to
the continued success of the G8 Summit
and its efforts to improve the world.
Building on the success of the KyushuOkinawa Summit, the G8 Hokkaido Toyako
Summit takes the idea of an "expanded summit" even further. Besides the G8 members,
eight newly industrializing countries and eight
African countries have been invited. South
Korea, Indonesia, and Australia will also be
participating for the first time. A record number of countries will therefore attend the
Summit. To reach an effective agreement on
G8 Summit Logo
A sprouting seed growing out of a
blue Earth, a message of hope
that the seeds planted at the
Summit will yield large fruits.
“Participation by all” is the key
environmental and global issues, the Summit
must become more open. Japan aims to help
build cooperative international relationships
among more countries, and this requires an
open forum. This will be one key to the success of the Toyako Summit.
‘‘
To take on the new challenges of the 21st
century, “Participation by all” is the key. We
need to bring about cooperation among nations
and people. Governments, companies, ordinary citizens, and academia must all work together.
(January 26, 2008, Special Address at Davos
by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan)
‘‘
Ever since it was held in Okinawa, the G8 Summit has been open to
more countries than ever before. A record twenty-three countries will be
at the Hokkaido Toyako Summit during July 7-9, 2008.
SPECIAL FEATURE: G8 HOKKAIDO TOYOKO SUMMIT
Beautiful Hokkaido
Hokkaido has eighteen active volcanoes and
many hot springs.
Red-crowned crane, an endangered species,
is Hokkaido's official bird.
Held in early February, the Sapporo Snow
Festival attracts millions of tourists. Hokkaido
has one of the heaviest snowfalls in the world.
Windsor Toya Resort & Spa, the venue for the
G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, sits atop on a
hill with a commanding view of Lake Toya.
Potato flowers will be in full bloom during the Toyako Summit. This potato
farm is in Makkari town near Lake Toya.
Hokkaido is Japan’s northernmost main island, and Toyako, or Lake Toya,
is a beautiful caldera lake in Shikotsu-Toya National Park.
Hokkaido was selected as the Summit venue
for its abundant nature, a most appropriate
place to discuss environmental issues. With
an area of 78,000 square kilometers,
Hokkaido is slightly smaller than Ireland. It
boasts six National Parks including a World
Heritage Site at Shiretoko Peninsula. Wildlife
and nature lovers will marvel at brown bears,
Ezo deer, cranes, transparent lakes, active
volcanoes, hot springs, and more.
Hokkaido’s population is about 5.6 million,
and population density 73 people per square
kilometer, much less than Japan’s average of
343 people per square kilometer.
Large-scale migrations to Hokkaido from
other parts of Japan started about 140 years
ago when Japan started to modernize. It was
a huge, new frontier, unbound by Japan’s old
traditions. As agriculture is its main industry,
Hokkaido is Japan’s food producing base.
Lake Toya is world-renowned for its beauty. The caldera lake is 70 square kilometers in area,
accented by small islands in the center. It is the ninth largest lake in Japan. Located in one of
the most volcanically active areas in Japan, Lake Toya is adjacent to a few smoking volcanoes.
One of them, Mt. Usu, erupted four times in the last 100 years. The latest eruption, in 2000,
forced the evacuation of the entire hot spring town of Toyako Onsen at the foot of the mountain
for a few months. Toyako is a place where people have learned to coexist with nature.
SPECIAL FEATURE: G8 HOKKAIDO TOYOKO SUMMIT
Ministers’ Meetings
Cabinet-level discussions build dialogue and collaboration
YOKOHAMA―
―5
On January 1, 2008, Japan began its oneyear term as summit chair. To ensure that
the Toyako Summit in July is a big success,
ten G8 Summit Liaison Meetings are being
May 28 - 30
held prior to the Summit, from March to
June, including the first ever Science and
Technology Ministers’ Meeting.
TICAD IV
AOMORI―
―6
June 7- 8
CHIBA ―
―1
Energy Ministers’ Meeting
0
March 14 -16
Dialogue on Climate Change,
Clean Energy and Sustainable Development
6
TOKYO―
―2
OSAKA―
―7
June 13 - 14
Finance Ministers’ Meeting
April 5 - 6
Development Ministers’ Meeting
3
June 11-13
Justice and Home Affairs
Ministers’ Meetings
9
47
2
5 1
OKINAWA―
―8
June 15
Science and Technology
Ministers’ Meeting
NIIGATA ―
―3
May 11-13
KYOTO―
―9
June 26 - 27
Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
Labour Ministers’ Meeting
8
KOBE ―
―4
HOKKAIDO ―
―0
May 24 - 26
July 7 - 9
Environment Ministers’ Meeting
G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit
Soaring food prices
now on Summit agenda
At the G8 Development Ministers’
Meeting on April 6, 2008, soaring worldwide food prices
became an urgent topic. Danny
Leipziger, the Vice President and
Head of the Poverty Reduction
and Economic Management
Network, said that prices of
basic foodstuffs rose by 80%
since 2005. And that this was a
problem directly impacting
h u m a n s e c u r i t y. T h e S o u t h
African representative reported
the current state of sub-Sahara
African countries where recent
droughts have reduced the food
supply to dangerous levels. As
an urgent issue needing immediate attention, the food problem
was put on the official agenda of
the G8 Summit.
SPECIAL FEATURE: G8 HOKKAIDO TOYOKO SUMMIT
SUMMIT THEMES
Promoting “Cool Earth”
Japanese environmental technologies ready to help
At the top of the agenda at the Hokkaido Toyako Summit will be climate
change and the environment. Japan wants to establish an effective international framework for after 2013 when the Kyoto Protocol expires. To
accomplish this, Japan hopes that all major CO 2 -emitting countries at the
Summit will participate in the discussion of technologies that can help
improve the environment.
In response to Japan’s proposal at the Heiligendamm Summit in 2007,
agreement was reached to seriously consider at least halving global
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with the participation of all major
emitters including the United States, China, and India. The Hokkaido
Toyako Summit will discuss how to achieve this goal. To this end, Prime
Minister Yasuo Fukuda proposed the “Cool Earth Promotion Program” at
Davos in January 2008.
Japan firmly believes that its advanced environmental technologies can
be used to improve the environment and climate change. And this can be
done without affecting the economy adversely. Over the past 30 years,
Japan has pursued energy conservation and succeeded in doubling its
real GDP without the industrial sector increasing its energy consumption.
This experience demonstrates that it is possible to strike a balance
between economic development and environmental measures. If the level
of efficiency and cleanliness of Japan’s coal-fired power generation is
achieved in just three countries the United States, China, and India the
resulting CO 2 emission reduction could amount to some 1.3 billion tons,
the equivalent of Japan’s total annual emissions. If Japan’s highly energy-efficient, iron-making technology was used throughout the world, it
would reduce carbon dioxide by about 300 million tons a year.
Pillars of the “Cool Earth Promotion Program”
1. Establishing fair national targets for overall emission reduction
2. Improving energy efficiency by 30% and introducing a new financial mechanism
3. Developing innovative technology and shifting to a low-carbon society
(Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s proposal)
Smokeless smokestack
Pictured here is the Isogo Power Plant in
Yokohama, Kanagawa, an ultra-clean,
coal-fired power plant. Burning coal produces harmful pollutants such as SOx
(sulfur oxide), NOx (nitrogen oxide), and
soot. With Regenerative Activated Coke
Technology, 99% of SOx and 91% of
NOx are removed from the smoke
exhaust. The plant’s emissions are thereby reduced to just mostly air and steam.
SPECIAL FEATURE: G8 HOKKAIDO TOYOKO SUMMIT
A Tanzania-Japan joint mosquito net factory began
operating in February 2008 in Tanzania.
SUMMIT THEMES
African Development
At the Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, Japan worked
hard to establish the Global Fund to tackle
Africa’s three major infectious diseases,
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other infectious diseases. To date, 2.5 million lives have
been saved through the efforts of this Fund.
Attaining self-reliance
Japan has been inviting African leaders to
Japan every five years since 1993 to discuss
development at the Tokyo International
Conference on African Development, or
TICAD. In May 2008, the fourth TICAD, or
TICAD IV, will be held. The outcome of the
conference will serve as a base for further
discussions at the Hokkaido Toyako Summit
in July. The concepts of African Ownership,
and International Partnership were first
raised by TICAD. TICAD was first to recognize the importance of this and has always
placed an emphasis on the importance of
ownership in the development of Africa.
Japan’s theme for TICAD IV is “Towards a
Vi b r a n t A f r i c a : C o n t i n e n t o f H o p e a n d
Opportunity.” The world cannot have stability and prosperity in the 21st century without resolving the problems of Africa.
Japanese-style support, which made the
East Asian miracle possible, and the concepts of Ownership and Partnership are
drawing the attention and expectation of
Africa and the world.
What is TICAD?
TICAD, or Tokyo International Conference on
African Development, is an international conference held every five years in Tokyo to discuss
African development. African leaders meet with
development partners to discuss high-level policies and to garner support for African-owned
development projects. The first TICAD was held
in 1993. The conference is co-organized by the
Japanese government and the Global Coalition
for Africa (GCA), the United Nations Office of
the Special Advisor on Africa (UN-OSAA), the
United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), and the World Bank.
SPECIAL FEATURE: G8 HOKKAIDO TOYOKO SUMMIT
The Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development
(TICAD IV) will be held in Yokohama this year from May 28 to
30.The TICAD process was launched by Japan in 1993
Dr. Mahmoud AHMADINEJAD, president of the
Islamic Republic of Iran
Stopping nuclear proliferation
The G8 Summit will also discuss nuclear non-proliferation of Iran and North Korea. Iran asserts that the
enrichment of uranium is for peaceful purposes and
refuses to suspend the process while disallowing any
inspections by the IAEA. North Korea also has not
promised to abandon its nuclear programs. The
United Nations has imposed sanctions on both countries.
SUMMIT THEMES
Other Urgent Topics
Finding solutions for global economy woes and nuclear proliferation.
The sub-prime mortgage crisis in the
United States has sent stock prices tumbling worldwide. At the same time, market
prices of oil and grain are continuing to
rise to record levels. In newly industrialized economies experiencing remarkable
growth and changing lifestyles such as
Brazil, Russia, India, and China, demand
is growing for oil and food. The influx of
venture capital for futures trading is also
pushing up prices of oil and food.
These economic and financial topics will
be important at the G8 Summit.
In Japan, the bubble economy burst in the
1990s. Stock prices declined and the
economy remained stagnant for a long
time. But companies continued their
efforts to develop new technologies, and
the government implemented drastic
reforms. As a result, Japan is now enjoying
a period of slow but steady growth over the
long term. Japan hopes to mention this
experience at the G8 Summit as a model to
help stabilize the world economy.
New York Merchantile Exchange:
The price of crude oil jumped to a
record above $100 a barrel in January.
Kim Jong-Il,
president of North Korea
Sanctions against North Korea
North Korea has openly declared itself as a nuclear
power. Nuclear weapons development by North Korea
is a direct threat to Asia’s peace and stability. Japan’s
sanctions include a total ban on North Korean ships
entering Japanese ports. To lift these sanctions,
Japan requires that North Korea allow the return of
Japanese abductees.
Working Together, Doing What We Can
SPECIAL FEATURE: G8 HOKKAIDO TOYOKO SUMMIT
Innovative idea: The Toya Agricultural Cooperative
uses winter snow instead of electricity to refrigerate its stock of vegetables in a huge warehouse. The snow is stored in an adjacent room
(seen on the back wall) and fans are used to circulate the cold air and moisture from the snow.
Reuse/Recycle: Local supermarkets in the city
of Date have started to collect used vegetable
oil from shoppers. A local NPO converts the oil
into automobile fuel which emits almost no
CO 2 . You can actually safely breathe the
exhaust coming out of the car's exhaust pipe.
Environment friendly: This couple work on their
potato farm near Lake Toya while using a
reduced amount of agrichemicals. To promote a
low-carbon society, local food will be used as
much as possible at the Hokkaido Toyako Summit.
The basics: Local high school students pick up
trash around Toya Station, Lake Toya's nearest
train station. It is important to get into the habit
of cleaning the environment even at this most
basic level and at a young age.
Environmental awareness: Toya High School’s
Environment Club takes water samples from Lake
Toya regularly to monitor the water quality. They
find the lake's water to be very clean.
The Hokkaido Toyako Summit can be successful only through the cooperation, coordination, and agreement of the participating country leaders,
ministers, and numerous people. Most of the problems on the Summit
agenda also require the attention and cooperation from the rest of us.
Although government leaders can make
agreements to help resolve global problems, many problems, especially related to
the environment, also require action from
all of us. From governments and major corporations to ordinary citizens, we must all
work together to help make this a better
world to live in, both economically and
environmentally. We must become more
conscious and caring of our common environment, our precious Earth, as well as the
well-being of our fellow man all over the
world. Just do what you can to help in any
small or big way. Whether it’s picking up
trash in your neighborhood, saving electricity, or recycling, every bit helps. And if we
all did it, it would make a major impact.
Being surrounded by grand nature,
Hokkaido’s people are naturally concerned
about the environment. Numerous local
groups and organizations conduct environment-related activities. In April 2008,
Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi even
proposed that its citizens adopt an environment-friendly lifestyle and that each person plant thirty trees in his or her lifetime.