September 25, 2019

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira at a press conference held in the Diet building on September 24 criticized Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro for making irresponsible remarks over the global challenge of tackling climate change.

Environment Minister Koizumi, visiting NYC to attend the UN Climate Action Summit, told foreign journalists on September 22 that it should be "fun", "cool", and "sexy" to fight against climate change.

Koike said, "As UN Secretary General Guterres calls on the world's leaders to make commitments 'not with just beautiful speeches, but with concrete actions', the Japanese government must put forth a concrete and effective plan to combat climate change."

Koike said, "Japan is the only developed county that plans to construct several coal-fired thermal power plants which received severe criticism from the international community. Environment Minister Koizumi did not mention anything about how he would deal with the present situation in Japan in the context of the fight against climate change. He said he would address the issue 'sexily'. His remarks were not only irresponsible but appalling."