On July 7th to July 8th of 2008 the 34th G8 Summit was held at Lake Toya. This unofficial annual forum saw the leaders from Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, The United Kingdom and the United States. The 34th G8 summit was the very first summit for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and the then Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev. The summit was also first and only summit for Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, and the last for U.S President George W. Bush. This was the first G8 summit ever held in Hokkaido. 

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In July 2008, a monument decorated with flowers stands at the place where the Hokkaido Toyako Summit (Main Summit) was declared . The monument can be found in the Lake Toya Onsen district on the southern shoreline, and is part of the Funsui Hiroba Fountain Square, which is a nice promenade to walk along. The leaders stayed at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa which can be found on top of the hill overlooking the lake. The summit was one of the largest ever with more than 2,000 delegates attending. Other delegates included leaders from African nations and Australia and South Korea.