NEMURO, Hokkaido — Hirotoshi Kawata hopes the Group of Eight summit in July will be an opportunity to tell the world about his 62 years as a displaced person, banished from a Soviet-seized island when he was a preteen.

The former resident of Taraku, one of the Habomai islets and within sight of Nemuro, recalls the rich environment of his village, where crab and shrimp could be caught by hand.

"The 1,500 people who lived on the island mostly engaged in fishing and selling kelp. We were one big family," Kawata said.