Japan Brief/FPCJ, No. 0933
June 15, 2009


Prime Minister Aso Announces Japan’s Midterm Goal
for Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

At a press conference held at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence on June 10, Prime Minister Taro Aso announced Japan’s midterm goal for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which is to cut emissions by 15% compared with 2005 levels by 2020. This target is equivalent to a cut of 8% from 1990 levels and is to be achieved through domestic measures alone, with the exclusion of such schemes as the purchase of emissions credits from other countries.

Emphasizing that the balance between environmental and economic factors had been taken into account, Prime Minister Aso said, “This is an extremely ambitious goal aiming for improvements in energy efficiency surpassing the time of the oil crises [in the 1970s]. If the bar were placed any higher, the public burden would be just too heavy.” From now on this midterm goal will provide the basis for Japan’s position in international negotiations leading up to the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP15) to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Building a Post-Kyoto Framework and Midterm Goals

The Kyoto Protocol, which was adopted in 1997 at COP3 in Kyoto, Japan, obliges major developed countries to reduce their overall emissions of greenhouse gases by at least 5% from 1990 levels and Japan to cut emissions by 6% from 1990 levels in the commitment period from 2008 to 2012. The targets for 2013 and beyond, which will be international pledges, have not yet been decided, however, so the focus of the post-Kyoto framework will be the midterm goal for the 2013–20 period. Reduction targets announced independently by countries and proposals at the United Nations relating to the method of setting objectives are therefore attracting much attention.

In order to set Japan’s midterm goal, the government established a panel on the global-warming problem comprising business representatives and environmental experts. Discussions in this panel, which continued from last fall, were characterized by a confrontation between the business side, which urged small reductions, and the environmental preservationists, who called for substantial reductions. The government coordinated opinions toward the setting of a goal of 7% reductions from 1990 levels (14% from 2005 levels), but then at the final stage Prime Minister Aso added another point to the reduction rate.

The midterm goal that was finally announced (down 15% from 2005 levels, 8% from 1990 levels) is slightly higher than those of the United States (down 14% from 2005 levels) and the European Union (down 20% from 1990 levels, the equivalent of a reduction of 13% from 2005 levels). In addition, at the press conference, Prime Minister Aso stressed that compared with the US and EU goals, which include the purchase of emissions credits from other countries, the absorption of carbon dioxide by forests, and other factors, Japan’s midterm goal is an “unadulterated” one involving only domestic efforts.

An increase in the burden on public life will be unavoidable if the midterm goal is to be achieved. According to estimates by the government, in order to achieve the goal, the annual financial burden per household will amount to 43,000 yen in disposable income and 33,000 yen in utility charges. In his press conference, however, Prime Minister Aso called for the people’s understanding of “the cost of protecting the Earth.”

Newspaper Editorials

Japan’s five main newspapers all carried editorials on the midterm goal in their June 11 editions.

The Yomiuri Shimbun editorial insisted that Japan’s experience of being placed in a disadvantageous situation under the Kyoto Protocol because it already possesses advanced energy-saving technology must not be repeated. It stated, “It is highly likely that the nation’s midterm target also will be the minimum level Japan will undertake to meet under its international obligations. What must not be forgotten is the need for fairness. Aso said he will make utmost efforts in international negotiations to ensure this nation will not suffer a greater disadvantage than others. The government should call for reduction targets to be assigned to nations in accordance with the degree to which energy-saving measures are promoted.”

The Asahi Shimbun editorial commented, “Still, if we only concentrate on the midterm target, we could lose sight of the final goal—preventing global warming. To that end, the administration of Yasuo Fukuda set a long-term target ‘to cut emissions by 60% to 80% from current levels by 2050.’ We must change domestic industrial and social structures to meet that goal as soon as possible. Now is the time to advance debate on such bold policies as emissions trading and the introduction of a carbon tax. The entire nation needs to shift gears to realize a low-carbon society.” It concluded, “We view the reduction targets as a primer to set off a low-carbon revolution.”

The Mainichi Shimbun editorial observed, “While pointing out that any further reduction would be too heavy a burden on the nation, Prime Minister Aso said that some national burden was necessary to realize the goal and appealed for cooperation. A change in the consciousness and behavior of the people is certainly necessary. However, this is not something that will come about at the government’s request. The important thing is policies. If the policies are reasonable, then people are sure to think of the cost of realizing a low-carbon society not as a burden but as an investment in the future.”

The Nikkei editorial asked, “The prevention of global warming raises the question of what kind of planet we want to pass on to future generations. Do we have the strong will to curb the global-scale climate change and disasters that science is predicting? That is the essence of the problem.” It went on, “That strong will does not appear very clearly in the midterm goal. Based on the commitment to limit the global temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2100, the European Union has set a target of reducing emissions in 2020 by 20% from 1990 levels. Japan’s midterm goal does not share this commitment with the EU and indeed seems to have deepened the trough.”

The Sankei Shimbun editorial asserted, “The most effective means of halting global warming is the participation of the United States and China. These two countries account for 40% of global emissions. Moreover, since they have plenty of room to make reductions, the effect on restraining temperature rises would be extremely high. Here in Japan, too, there are people who are calling for greater reductions. By setting a high goal for itself, Japan hopes to draw China and others into reduction efforts. But negotiations on the prevention of global warming, in which global interests and national interests intermix, are not that simple.”

(Copyright 2009 Foreign Press Center, Japan)

*Japan Brief is an original production of the Foreign Press Center, Japan, and does not represent the views of the Government of Japan or of any other body.


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