Date : May 14, 2013
Report (Press Briefing): Outcome of the 15th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among Japan, Korea and China (May 14, 2013)
post date : 2013.08.21
On May 5-6, the 15th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among Japan, Korea and China (TEMM15) was held in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Discussions covered air pollution including PM2.5, green economy, climate change and biodiversity. FPCJ invited Mr. Soichiro Seki, Director General for Global Environment, Ministry of the Environment, to talk about the outcome of the meeting.
As the “achievements of the TEMM15, which Japan especially evaluated as the host country,” Mr. Seki listed two points: 1) that the Ministers of the three countries could gather despite the touchy relations of Japan and other two countries over the past months, and 2) that the three countries realized the importance of the air pollution problem, which is their biggest common challenge, and agreed to set a new policy dialogue for strengthened cooperation to solve the problem. Mr. Seki then presented the Joint Communiqué of the TEMM15, focusing on the outcome of discussions in such fields as air pollution, dust and sandstorms, mercury and climate change.
A total of 26 persons including Tokyo-based journalists of Chinese, American, and German media, and embassy representatives, gathered to attend the briefing. Several questions, including the impact on the TEMM15 of the tensions between Japan and China and the ROK, were raised by the journalists.