TOKYO, JAPAN - JAPAN said on Thursday it was arranging a meeting of national leaders to address climate change as it prepares to hold the Group of Eight summit of major industrial economies this summer.

A newspaper report said Japan has invited heads of state and government from 16 nations, which together account for 80 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, for parallel talks to the G8 summit.

A UN conference in Bali in December set a goal of reaching a deal to succeed the landmark Kyoto Protocol by the end of next year.

The United States, the leading opponent of Kyoto, has recently tried to demonstrate a leadership role including by gathering negotiators from the 16 major emitting nations for talks in late January in Hawaii.

'In the chairman's summary of the climate talks in Hawaii, participants discussed holding talks of heads of state around the middle of this year to kickstart the Bali action plan,' said Koji Yagi, head of the Japanese foreign ministry's climate change division.

'The countries involved are currently discussing that, but nothing is decided,' he told reporter.

The Asahi Shimbun, quoting unnamed sources, said that Japan had invited leaders of the 16 nations for the parallel summit from July 7 to 9 in the northern mountain resort of Toyako.

The talks would aim to come up with medium- and long-term goals by each nation to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions blamed for heating up the planet.

The newspaper also said Japan was hoping to invite more African nations to take part in the Toyako summit, which Tokyo wants to focus in large part on global health and poverty.

The 16 nations that took part in the Hawaii talks were Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, South Africa and the United States.

The United States is the only major industrial nation to reject the Kyoto treaty, which President George W. Bush argues is unfair as it makes no demands of emerging economies such as China.

Japan has championed the Kyoto Protocol, which is named for its ancient capital. But it is far behind in meeting its own commitments as its economy wakes up from a long slumber. -- AFP