Japanese proposals to lead G8 in world fight against climate change

JAPAN took over the presidency of the Group of Eight club of the world’s leading economies yesterday, with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowing to put a focus on climate change and environmental issues.

The world’s second biggest economy after the United States, Japan is also the home of the Kyoto Protocol, the landmark 1997 treaty that really launched the fight against global warming.

So when leaders of the rich club convene for a summit in July in Toyako, a northern resort in the Japanese island of Hokkaido, it will be with climate change on their mind.