Protesters yesterday tried to push through police lines to get closer to a summit of G8 leaders in a remote country area of northern Japan, but were easily turned back by police.

So far, 21,000 police in Hokkaido have easily contained protests against the summit with only a few scuffles and a handful of arrests, in sharp contrast to previous gatherings of rich country leaders.

Last year's Group of Eight meeting in Germany attracted 30,000 protesters and demonstrators were able to push past police with water cannon to block access to the G8 venue.