Japan News

Japan Retreats in CO2 Emissions Cut Target

Updated Nov. 15, 2013 2:23 a.m. ET

TOKYO—The Japanese government set a sharply lower target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions than what the previous administration had pledged, as most of the country's nuclear power plants remain idled, making expensive fossil fuel imports an increasingly necessary evil.

The government said Friday it now tentatively aims to cut emissions by 3.8% from fiscal 2005 levels by 2020 versus the ambitious 25% cut from 1990 levels that the...

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