Japan may include golf courses and gardens in residential and public areas, including those at shrines, in carbon dioxide absorption calculations to meet its goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, Environment Ministry officials said Monday.

Greenery in private complexes nationwide, including golf courses, totals several hundred thousand hectares and may help Japan achieve its goal of reducing emissions by 6 percent from the 1990 level by 2008-2012.

The ministry will study the management of such green areas in fiscal 2004, which starts in April, and the government will make a final decision by 2006.

"It is small as a figure, but if such greenery in neighborhoods helps Japan reach the protocol goal, it may serve as an inspiration (for citizens) to prevent global warming," a ministry official said.

Japan had planned to cover 3.9 percentage points of its 6 percent reduction goal with carbon dioxide absorption by forests, which account for two-thirds of the nation's land.

The plan may hold if 70 percent of the 25 million hectares of managed, or conservation, forests and artificially planted forests are found to be properly cared for.

However, a large portion of the artificial forests are believed to be in bad condition due to the decline of the logging industry.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry estimates that carbon dioxide absorption by these forests will account for only 2.9 percentage points of the reduction target.

Carbon dioxide absorption by forests that are internationally recognized as having been under appropriate management since 1990 can be counted to a certain extent in the reduction goal.