Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday he finds it "very deplorable" that the United States has rejected the Kyoto Protocol, but he stopped short of saying whether Japan will ratify the pact even without U.S. participation.
He merely pledged to continue trying to persuade Washington to abide by the accord.
"I find it very deplorable that the U.S. government said the pact was fatally flawed," Koizumi said in a Diet debate with opposition leaders. "We will continue efforts to find a way to earn their understanding and cooperation."