TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Nine Japanese industry groups said Friday they are opposed to specifying the nation's greenhouse gas emissions cut target in an anti-global warming bill which the government plans to present to the current Diet session.
The Japan Iron and Steel Federation, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan and other groups said in a statement that spelling out the target to cut the emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 would not lead to a "real solution" to the problem unless international fairness is secured.
The groups also expressed opposition to the inclusion in the government bill of a domestic greenhouse gas emissions trading system and taxation to fight global warming.
They said that such systems would have a "heavy impact on people's lives and industrial activities," but that there has not been any examination of their possible effects or their potential burdens on people.
The industry groups said that if the government submitted the bill to the Diet without providing sufficient explanations and information to people, the move could not be described as a "democratic process."
They also cited the idea of promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through transferring Japan's energy-saving technologies to other countries.
