Per the following Amazon listing Shimano has come out with a bar end shifter for the Nexus8 and Alfine gear hubs. The Amazon shown price, from Performancedownhill, is only a bit over 1/2 the price of the recently discussed Jtek bar end shifter.
http://tinyurl.com/bf62h5
I hope the link continues to work as after my purchase the Amazon listing shows only one left in stock.
I am aware that the photo is incorrect and the description poor, at least as regards usage, but I took a chance on ordering it. It is not yet listed on either the Shimano America or Shimano Europe web sites. If not as represented I will be raising hell with both the vendor and Amazon.