Japan ratified the Kyoto Protocol on Tuesday, officially committing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nearly 4 1/2 years after the pact was inked.
The Cabinet approved the ratification in the morning. Environment Minister Hiroshi Ohki welcomed the move and said he was drafting letters to 15 nations to notify those who have already approved the pact of Japan's ratification, and asking those dragging their feet — including Russia and Canada — to endorse it as soon as possible. The letter to the United States, however, will request that the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases return to the climate accord.
"I am happy to see the protocol ratified, but now things will get hard," Ohki said, referring to the development of national policies to trim greenhouse gas emissions that have grown by almost 7 percent in the nine years since 1990.