Japan is a lucky country. When the global average temperature has gone up by 2 degrees Celsius and most of mainland Asia is ravaged by famines, when civil wars and failed states and waves of climate refugees are the norm from Tehran to Hanoi and from Madras to Beijing, Japan will still be at peace and eating regularly.
However, the desperate people of the rest of Asia will all know that Japan is among the industrialized countries that created the disaster with their greenhouse gas emissions, and that it has nevertheless largely escaped the consequences of its actions. Maybe they will be in a forgiving mood, but maybe not.
This is an extreme scenario, and it may never happen. If the climate summit that opened in Copenhagen on Monday agrees on early, deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, global warming may never reach plus 2 degrees.