Japan Press Weekly

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2016 September 28 - October 4 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP Kurabayashi commits herself to Japan’s early ratification of ‘Paris Agreement’

A rally calling for Japan’s early ratification of the “Paris Agreement”, a new framework tackling global warming, took place on September 28 in the Diet building. Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Kurabayashi Akiko attended the rally and promised, “I will devote all my energy in the Diet to urge the Japanese government to ratify the agreement without delay.”

Kurabayashi, who visited Paris late last year to take part in COP21-related events, said, “In Paris, I saw firsthand increased momentum of the movement working for a decarbonized world.”

As of today, 61 countries, including the United States and China, have ratified the Paris Agreement, accounting for 47.79% of the world’s total CO2 emissions. In addition, India has expressed its intent to ratify and a positive move has arisen in the European Union as well.

At the rally hosted by the environmental NGO network called CAN-Japan, Yamagishi Naoyuki of WWF Japan reported, “Many political, business, and religious leaders in the world have already begun tackling climate change as it poses the ‘most significant risk’ to their communities. The requirements (55 nations, 55% of the gross of CO2 outputs) for the entry into force of the new framework will be met for sure.” He said, “In this situation, how Japan acts will come under question.”

Hirata Kimiko of Kiko Network raised an alarm by saying, “Japan could lose its international standing.” She said that Japan should take this opportunity to review its domestic policies to cut greenhouse gases and move toward an energy-saving society. The government of Japan should also promote renewable sources of energy by breaking away from nuclear power and coal-fired generation.

“People in the world are now regarding the climate change challenge as a human rights issue,” said Emori Seita of the National Institute for Environmental Studies.

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]