Thanks to Russia's ratification, the Kyoto Protocol on global warming is set to take effect in February. The treaty requires industrially developed nations to cut their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by specified degrees from 1990 levels in five years from 2008 to 2012. Japan is required to cut its emissions by 6 percent. As a way of meeting the target, the Environment Ministry is calling for the introduction of a "carbon tax."
According to the ministry plan, the tax would be imposed on all types of fossil fuel, such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. It would be levied on electricity as well. In the case of gasoline, the tax rate would be 1.5 yen per liter, raising annual household energy bills by an estimated 3,000 yen on average.
This and other related plans are to be discussed by the government's Tax Commission, perhaps beginning later this month. Nippon Keidanren, or the Japan Business Federation, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, oppose the carbon tax, also known as the environment tax, on the grounds that it would slow economic growth. They should consider its merits in combination with other practicable measures, such as the trading of emissions rights.