Japan Press Weekly

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2010 December 15 - 21 [POLITICS]

Major CO2 emitters donated to DPJ and LDP

Major greenhouse gas emitters in Japan have given a vast amount of donations to the Democratic and Liberal Democratic Parties. They were urging the government to reject the extension of the Kyoto Protocol at the COP 16, Akahata revealed on December 19.

At the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 16) in Cancun, Japan drew international criticism over its stubborn refusal to extend the Kyoto Protocol, the only legal-binding framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

On December 9, nine Japanese industrial organizations issued a joint emergency statement in opposition to any extension of the Kyoto Protocol. They include the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation, the Japan Chemical Industry Association, the Petroleum Association of Japan, the Japan Cement Association, and the Japan Paper Association.

Some of these organizations were major benefactors to the LDP and DPJ in 2009, giving a total of 264.7 million yen in donations to the two parties’ fund management bodies.

Meanwhile, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) sent a delegation headed by vice chairman Sakane Masahiro to Cancun during the COP 16 to have talks with Environment Minister Matsumoto Ryu and other government officials. On December 11, Keidanren Chair Yonekura Hiromasa published a statement praising the government’s “consistent stance in negotiations that does not support” the extension of the Kyoto Protocol.
- Akahata, December 19, 2010