Strong Japanese support for emissions trading: government survey

More than 40 per cent of Japanese companies support the introduction of a domestic greenhouse gas emissions trading system as part of efforts to fight global warming, according to an Environment Ministry survey.

According to the survey, released on Thursday, 41.3 per cent of the companies polled said they support the possible introduction of an emissions trading system in Japan. The survey found that 15.5 per cent oppose a cap-and-trade scheme, with 39.8 per cent replying that they neither support nor oppose it.
This finding underscores sharp divisions within corporate Japan over whether to introduce the system, although the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), the nation’s most powerful business lobby, vehemently oppose it.

The survey also shows that corporate Japan is split down the middle over the introduction of an environment tax, levied primarily on fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.

According to the survey, 38.9 per cent of the companies polled either “support” or “rather support” the move, while 39.7 per cent either “oppose” or “rather oppose” it, with 18.3 per cent having no opinion.

The survey, conducted from 17 July to 10 August, covered a total of 6,565 domestic companies, of which 2,751 are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges. The remaining 3,814 are unlisted but relatively large firms with 500 or more employees.

Valid replies were received from 2,774 companies, or 42.3 per cent of the total, including 1,138 listed and 1,638 unlisted firms.

While the Environment Ministry is strenuously pushing for the introduction of both a mandatory emissions trading system and an environment tax, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti) and the Japan Business Federation oppose those measures.

Tokyo