TOYAKO, Japan (AFP) - US President George W. Bush arrived in Japan on Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on the next steps in the North Korean nuclear dispute as well as to attend the Group of Eight summit of industrialised nations.

Bush, whose Air Force One airplane touched down just after 1:20 pm (0420 GMT), was also to hold talks with other key leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Bush's arrival came after Fukuda landed on the northern island of Hokkaido on Sunday to chair the three-day summit of the Group of Eight powers.

Fukuda's government airplane landed at Chitose airport from Tokyo and he switched to a helicopter to fly to Toyako, a secluded mountain resort where leaders will start their summit on Monday.

Thousands of protesters hit the streets Saturday in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, the closest major city to the lakeside resort of Toyako.

The protests were mostly peaceful, although police shattered the windows of a van that refused to stop as it went through traffic.

Authorities mobilised thousands of riot police who arrested four Japanese nationals -- three demonstrators and one television crew member for the Reuters news agency, police said.

"The television crew member kicked a police officer," said a local police spokesman. "The other three are demonstrators including a man who drove a van leading a group of protesters."

Reuters said it was sending a lawyer to assist the detained cameraman, Masahiro Koike.

"Reuters is investigating the situation and trying to obtain the release," said Shumpei Tachi, a spokesman for Reuters Japan.

Smaller protests were expected Sunday after the previous day's gathering, which brought together some 5,000 union activists, anti-war demonstrators, farmers and students.

But the rally was relatively peaceful compared with anti-G8 summit protests in recent years.

Violent anti-globalisation rallies have marred past summits of the G8, which comprises Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Last year militant activists threw Molotov cocktails and stones during demonstrations in Germany that drew tens of thousands of protesters.

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