Japan denies entry to NGO members ahead of G8 events

Jul 4, 2008, 8:16 GMT

Tokyo - Japanese immigration authorities have denied entry to 19 members of an international farmers' group who flew in from South Korea, sources associated with an NGO said Friday.

The farmers' group members arrived in Japan on Thursday and had planned to attend a forum in Hokkaido ahead of the Group of Eight (G8) summit meeting, which is scheduled July 7-9 in Toyako, Japan.

An immigration official said the group members' purpose for coming was 'not clear,' after they were asked whether they had participated in demonstrations in the past.

The members were to attend a forum on climate change and its impact on food supplies.

Meanwhile, immigration authorities at Haneda Airport near Tokyo were interrogating four members of a South Korean trade union and withholding permission to enter the country, according to the sources.

At least eight foreign journalists who intended to cover the G8 meeting and 10 others who planned to speak at G8-related events have been interrogated and detained at Japan's major airports.

They were eventually allowed into Japan, except three independent journalists who arrived in Tokyo Sunday and only received permission to stay until Friday.

Two activists from South Korea have been deported.