Protesters slam APEC summit in Japan

Japanese protesters have hit the streets of the port city of Yokohama, protesting an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Hundreds of students rallied in Yokohama on Saturday to voice discontent with the APEC summit being held in their country, reports say.

Security is tight around the Japanese capital of Tokyo and the summit venue where Japanese authorities have deployed some 21,000 police officers to provide security for the talks.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that other groups held similar protests outside the summit, including one against free trade policies being discussed by the 21-member bloc.

“The APEC meeting is only fuelling power games by the United States and China, vying for hegemony in Asia,” AFP quoted Shigeki Okuno, an organizer of a rally as saying.

Other demonstrators also protested visits to the country by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

They voiced their anger over what they called Beijing’s imperialism in a territorial dispute with Tokyo.

Public anger in Japan has been rising since a maritime collision between a Chinese trawler and Japanese Coast Guard vessels near a disputed island chain in the East China Sea claimed by both sides.

Meanwhile, Tokyo and Moscow have been locked in a dispute over the Kuril Islands claimed by Japan but held by Russia.

The protesters held banners, demanding the return of the islands. Several other protests have also been planned by anti-globalization activists, left-wing students, and nationalist groups.

More protests are expected on Sunday against proposals for Japan to join any regional free trade agreements, which farmers maintain could destroy Japan’s agricultural sector by opening the country up to cheap foreign produce.