Yuriko Koike, reappointed as the environment minister, says Japan needs a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"The problem of global warming is a pressing situation. (To cut emissions,) I will try to introduce a carbon tax by persuading related ministries and other parties," Koike said in an interview.
Koike, 52, one of two women in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's new Cabinet launched on Monday, said she will put priority on a campaign to obtain support for such a tax from people who have so far opposed it.
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