A plenary session of the House of Representatives was held on the afternoon of April 10, and DPJ member Yoshinori Suematsu, as a representative of the DPJ / Mushozoku Club, questioned Cabinet members including Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and Environment Minister Ichiro Kamoshita on the subject of the "Bill to Partially Revise the Law Relating to the Promotion of Measures to Combat Global Warming".

Suematsu began his Diet questions by noting that "the issue of global warming is reaching a critical juncture". He expressed concern over the ruling coalition's lukewarm efforts to tackle the problem and strongly demanded that the government should take the fact seriously that in April 2008 we entered the first month of the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period. He also demanded the government that to make maximum efforts to ensure that Japan meets its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 6%, and to show strong leadership as the host country of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, which will be held in July.

Suematsu then went on to ask government ministers about their plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the first commitment period. Although Japan is required to reduce its average total annual emissions of greenhouse gases for the five-year period between 2008 and 2012 by 6% compared to the base year, the total volume of greenhouse gas emissions had increased by 6.4% in 2006. Suematsu therefore pressed the responsibility of the government regarding the gap between the current situation and Japan's emissions targets. He expressed his view that the above bill, which is not backed up by any fiscal measures, would not be sufficient for Japan to meet its targets.

Suematsu suggested that for public to gain a real understanding of the carbon dioxide reduction process, carbon dioxide emissions volume should be "made visible" through measures such as printing emissions volumes on electricity and gas bills and also in the annual financial reports of listed corporations. He stressed the need for public to be aware of their own emissions volume on a daily basis.

Environment Minister Kamoshita expressed agreement with the proposal of making greenhouse gas emissions volumes more visible, saying the government would pursue a policy of encouraging corporations to make greenhouse gas emissions visible to citizens. He added that presenting information in an easy-to-understand-way is essential if each individual citizen is to understand and co-operate in the process. Minister of Economy Trade and Industry Akira Amari also said that making carbon dioxide emissions volumes more visible so people could check whether their emissions were increasing or decreasing would contribute to self-regulation.

Suematsu then asked about the construction of a new international framework for the post-Kyoto Protocol era and Japan's responsibilities. He also questioned government ministers on Japan's energy policy, which is very closely related to the global warming countermeasures. Chief Cabinet Secretary Machimura and other government ministers strongly asserted that various nations had shown understanding for Japan's proposal of creating emissions reductions targets for individual nations by adding up possible reductions on a sector-by-sector basis. They said that Japan would continue to engage in constructive dialogue with other nations. Government ministers also stressed that they were prepared to examine various other initiatives to combat global warming including the introduction of an environment tax, the introduction of renewable energy and the need to accelerate renewable energy development. However, it was clear from their answers that the government's awareness of the current situation lacks urgency.

Suematsu proposed the DPJ policy which includes the establishment of a domestic market for carbon dioxide emissions trading and the introduction of a tax to fund global warming countermeasures in order for Japan to lead the international community in implementing measures to tackle global warming.

He concluded by saying that the government's proposals for combating global warming are not solid enough to lead the people and the business community in taking action, and that therefore voters should elect the DPJ to government so that Japan could show the international community strong leadership on environmental matters.

(08/04/10)