The next Group of Eight summit meetings will be held in Toyako, Hokkaido, on July 7, 8 and 9, 2008. The heads of the eight leading industrial powers will meet to discuss global warming and other issues of international importance.

Toyako is the name of a town located on Lake Toya, a crater lake created about 100,000 years ago. The lake sprawls in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, home to conifer and other virgin forests and wild animals. Mt. Usu, an active volcano located near to the lakeshore, has erupted four times over the last 100 years, with the last eruption recorded in 2000.

The International Media Center for the press will be located at the Rusutsu Resort area, a group of recreational facilities open to visitors throughout the year. The resort area includes the largest amusement park in Hokkaido, golf links, and some of the best skiing grounds in Hokkaido that boast high-quality snow, attracting many skiers from all over Japan and abroad. Rusutsu is also an agricultural town rich in nature, famous as a producing region of Chinese yam, Japanese white radish, potato, sweet corn and other produce.

While our everyday life is full of gifts from nature, our impact on nature has been much more serious than we had thought up until recently. With that in mind, the G8 summit in Toyako should play a role in tackling global warming and other environmental issues.