Protests have begun on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido ahead of Monday's summit of the Group of Eight (G8) developed nations.
Farmers and activists concerned about soaring food prices and global warming are gathering for a demonstration in Hokkaido's main city of Sapporo.
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Previous G8 summits have been marred by clashes between police and protesters.
Exclusion zone
To protect the leaders from the G8 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US - about 21,000 police have been deployed.
The security budget for this year's summit is said to be more than $280m (Ј140m), far higher than the year before, says the BBC's Tokyo correspondent Chris Hogg.
The organisers are keeping the protesters and journalists well away from the summit itself, in the resort of Toyako.
Demonstrators have begun to gather in camps outside the security exclusion zone.
Japanese farmers and other demonstrators in Sapporo have begun what is expected to be a major rally ahead of the summit.
Some of the activists are concerned about global warming and the steep rises in the price of food in recent years and want the G8 leaders to take action.
(BBC)
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