Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has shown his determination to lead the coming Group of Eight summit in discussions on climate change by announcing Japan's long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal. He also announced an "experimental" debut of emissions trading in Japan starting this autumn and a thorough review of the tax system that could lead to the introduction of a carbon tax. His speech Monday was aimed at turning Japan into a low-carbon society. But he left some points blurred. He must do more to show how Japan will realize this goal.

Mr. Fukuda said Japan will strive to cut its emissions by 60 to 80 percent from current levels by 2050 — the first pronouncement of its kind by the Japanese leader. But he failed to announce Japan's medium-term reduction goal. He only said he would reveal it sometime next year. He did say, though, that Japan would be able to cut its emissions by 14 percent by 2020 from the current levels — equivalent to the target set by the European Union.

The Kyoto Protocol requires Japan to reduce its emissions to a level 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. But Japan will be hard put to fulfill the obligation. The 14 percent reduction from current levels only means a 4 percent reduction from the 1990 levels, excluding carbon absorption by forests. This pales in comparison with the 25 to 40 percent cut by 2020 from 1990 levels as called for by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.