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Monday, 7th September 2009
In Events In Japan,

Japan aims to cut carbon emissions

The newly-elected Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, who will officially take over from the existing leader on September 16th, has announced plans to reduce the country's carbon emissions.

Mr Hatoyama said his government will aim to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas which Japan produces by a quarter by 2020, when compared with the levels seen in the 1990s.

This compares with the eight per cent cut in emissions which exiting leader Tara Aso previously aimed for.

However, according to the BBC's correspondent in Tokyo Roland Buerk, there are many in the Japanese business sector who feel that it is more important for the country to recover from the recession than to cut emissions.

The move has been welcomed by the UN and the head of the UN Climate Change Secretariat Yvo de Boer said that, "with such a target, Japan will take on the leadership role that industrialised countries have agreed to take in climate change abatement".

Written by Kimberley Homer.