Jubilee 2000, a nongovernmental organization calling for cancellation of debts held by least-developed nations, opened a conference here Wednesday ahead of the Group of Eight summit starting Friday in Okinawa.
The meeting in Naha will last until the opening day of the three-day summit in the northern city of Nago, group members said.
Some 270 conference participants plan to put together a declaration calling for the debt cancellation by the end of this year and a written demand to be submitted to leaders of the Group of Seven economic powers.
The G8 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and Russia. The G7 is the G8 excluding Russia.