Kyoto Prefecture has been picked as the venue for the for eign ministerial meetings when Japan hosts the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in summer 2008, sources said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided Monday to hold the G-8 summit at the Lake Toyako hot spring resort in Hokkaido. But Abe apparently took into consideration the other candi dates that had lobbied to host the summit, sources said.

The government also has G-8 plans for Osaka Prefecture for the meeting of finance ministers; Kobe for environment ministers; Niigata for labor ministers; and either Tokyo or Chiba Prefecture for justice and internal affairs ministers.

The government Tuesday held related discussions with offi cials in these areas. An official announcement will be made May 7 at the earliest, sources said.

It will not be the first time for ministerial-level meetings to be held at different venues from the site where the national leaders will meet.

In the G-8 summit in summer 2000, the last one hosted by Japan, the leaders met in Okinawa Prefecture, while the foreign and finance ministers held talks in Miyazaki and Fukuoka prefectures, respectively.

The central government has also approached Yokohama about hosting the Tokyo International Conference on Afri can Development (TICAD), also to be held in 2008, the sour ces said.

Tokyo has been jointly holding the TICAD once every five years with the United Nations and other international or ganizations to support African nations.

Just before the G-8 summit, leaders of African countries will discuss development plans.

Japan has hosted the summit meetings four times since the 1979 summit when Masayoshi Ohira was prime minister.