French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed that the Group of Eight (G8) should add five developing nations to the annual meeting of the seven largest developed economies and Russia, to promote dialogue with emerging nations, a Japanese daily said Monday.

In an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, Sarkozy expressed support for enlarging the summit membership to include China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

"G8 needs to adapt to the 21st century," he was quoted as saying.

Without the participation of major emerging powers, who are gaining weight in global finance, the G8 would face difficulty in managing crisis, Sarkozy said.

"G8 needs to expand to demonstrate its fairness in decision making," he said. (dpa)