Japan Press Weekly

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2016 October 5 - 11 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Gov’t should immediately focus on ratification of Paris Agreement rather than TPP: JCP Kokuta

Japanese Communist Party Diet Policy Commission Chair Kokuta Keiji on October 5 at a press conference held in the Diet building said that Japan should start Diet deliberations on the ratification of the Paris Agreement on global warming without delay as it will soon come into effect.

The Paris Agreement was already ratified by the three largest CO2 emitters, the United States, China, and India. Furthermore, the European Parliament on October 4 approved the ratification of the agreement. This made it possible for the agreement to enter into force early in November.

In contrast, the Japanese government has shown reluctance to this international agreement on climate change.

On the first day of the current extraordinary session of the Diet, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in his policy speech to both houses said nothing about the Paris Agreement. However, PM Abe as the chair of this year’s G7 Summit meeting held in May in Japan worked to issue a declaration calling on world leaders to ratify the Paris Agreement as soon as possible.

JCP Kokuta at the press conference criticized PM Abe for putting the TPP free-trade pact before the Paris climate change agreement. He said, “The government should propose a bill to ratify the Paris Agreement immediately and begin discussing what role Japan will play in the international framework to stop global warming.”

Past related articles:
> Ratification of ‘Paris Agreement’ by US and China highlights Japan’s reluctance to tackle climate change [September 5, 2016]
> Japan should play its role in ‘Paris Agreement’ to tackle climate change [December 15, 2015]