Climate change negotiations are steadily progressing behind the scenes and some subtle changes could portend breakthroughs, reappointed Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said.
Talks focusing on the Kyoto Protocol, an international climate change accord, will likely dominate Kawaguchi's time for the next few months, as Japan and other countries prepare to resume climate change talks in Germany in July.
Since the United States said in March it would abandon the agreement and put together its own proposal, Japan and other countries have been struggling to entice it back to mainstream negotiations.