Japan's carbon dioxide emissions hit a record 1.24 billion tons in fiscal 2000, up 4.3 million tons from a year earlier, the Environment Ministry said Thursday.

Per capita release of carbon dioxide logged a record 9.75 tons in fiscal 2000, up 10.5 percent from fiscal 1990, the ministry said.

The increase in emissions lifted overall greenhouse gas emissions to 1.33 billion tons, up 0.25 percent from fiscal 1999 levels and exceeding by 8 percent the 1990 emission levels that serve as the base for emission reductions pledged under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

The overall emissions figure for the six gases targeted under the treaty is the third highest on record, falling just shy of figures for 1996 and 1997, the ministry said.

Carbon dioxide accounts for nearly 90 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is obliged to reduce its emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 6 percent from the 1990 level on average between 2008 and 2012.

To achieve this, Japan must effectively trim emissions by 14 percent.

The ministry figures indicate that the civic sector -- homes and offices -- posted the biggest increase, with carbon dioxide emissions growing to 318 million tons, up 2.9 percent from a year earlier and 21.3 percent greater than in 1990.

Meanwhile, emissions from the transportation sector fell 2.1 percent from 1999 levels to 256 million tons, or 20.6 percent of the 1990 figure.

The industrial sector, responsible for nearly 40 percent of all emissions, saw emissions nudge down 0.2 percent from a year earlier to 495 million tons.

The figure, however, is still 0.9 percent above that for 1990.

Ministry officials attributed the increased emissions in the civic sector to greater energy consumption due to more and larger electrical goods, combined with warmer-than-average temperatures. The decline in the transport sector might be due to more efficient freight arrangements, they added.