KYOTO — A weak prime minister, a divided bureaucracy and opposition from big business mean Japan's ability to use the July Group of Eight Summit at Lake Toya to forge an effective global warming treaty is at risk, a leading environmental activist warns.
"Over the past six months, Japanese proposals for a post-Kyoto Protocol treaty on the environment have met with stiff international opposition at conferences in Bali, Bangkok and Japan," said Yurika Ayukawa in a recent interview with The Japan Times. "Time is running out, and we're very worried Japan will not exercise leadership on the environment at the G8 Summit."
Ayukawa is vice chairwoman of the 2008 G8 Summit NGO Forum, an umbrella organization of about 130 nongovernmental organizations working on poverty and development, peace and human rights, and environmental issues.