Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito defended Japan's plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, saying Wednesday they were scientifically valid and the economic benefits of a new low-carbon society the government is aiming for will eventually outweigh any financial burdens incurred.

"I believe Japan's decision on midterm greenhouse gas reduction targets does not by any means run counter to the scientific requirements set forth by the IPCC. It's duly within the considerations they presented," Saito told a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Taro Aso announced Japan would seek to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent of 2005 levels by 2020. The decision was immediately criticized by Japanese and international nongovernment organizations as insufficient.