By Anna Kitanaka

Can Japan play its cards right in the game of carbon trading?

During history’s most eco-friendly G8 summit in July this year, then Prime Minister of Japan and summit host Yasuo Fukuda made grandiose speeches about the need to tackle climate change.

Japan must now aim to reduce emissions by as much as 15 percent.
By Willhemina Wahlin

Japan, steeped in a tradition of honor and commitment, must face an embarrassing truth: it has not made a dent in its Kyoto Protocol target emissions, its 6% target reduction soaring to an 8.3% increase by 2003, which essentially put the target in the vicinity of 15%.