During his trip to China in late December 2007, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda came to address students at elite Beijing University in the western suburbs of the national capital. Fukuda, after recalling the environmental and oil crisis issues Japan had encountered in the 1970s in his speech, acknowledged that Japan-China cooperation is particularly vital and crucial in the field of environmental protection and energy conversation; he also set forth some concrete proposals to the endorsement of the Chinese side.
In a certain sense, Prime Minister Fukuda's emphases on the issues of energy saving and environmental protection represent his in-depth ponderations over Japan's global role and influences and the choice he made to put Japan in a proper profile instead of merely gearing it to Japan-China cooperation.
The Group of Eight summit is set to be held in Hokkaido, Japan in July 2008. Whether or not Japan can take the initiatives in the talks concerning the global warming issue poses a great test for the diplomacy of Prime Minister Fukuda, said the "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" in an article on January 3, noting that if the card of "environmental protection" is played well, Fukuda's global influence and governing capacity will improve remarkably. Meanwhile, the newspaper said in another article at the end of 2007 suggested capitalizing on the environment to seek the role of Japan as a global leader. Moreover, it further explained that most of political figures, financiers and nationals in Japan all hold that their country should offer their role of leadership in the environmental and energy spheres with its technological and mechanism superiority.
Quite a few Japanese are quite resentful as their nation has not been able to give its due role to match its economic strength, and there has been also a trend to go on weakening its international influence. As a matter of fact, it conforms to the human nature and popular national sentiments to play a greater role. As for the part of Japan, it will represent a relatively wiser choice if it takes the environmental protection as a "breakthrough point", and so there are three following reasons:
First, Japan's energy utilization rate is much higher than that of the European Union (EU) and the United States. In 2004, Japan released only 280 grams of greenhouse gas emissions per GDP (US) dollar, only half the amount of greenhouse gas emissions the EU released or 40 percent that of the U.S. The nation now has the first-rated technology regarding the issue of energy saving and gas emissions reduction and, therefore, it has the substantial power to give scope to its leading capacity, while bringing in more commercial opportunities to itself.
Secondly, with the global warming increasingly posing the focus of worldwide attention and the awareness for environment protection becoming the new ethos of the humanity at present, Japan should strive to play a greater role on the environmental protection issue and, thirdly, this is the realm in which the international community hopes Japan to play a still greater role.
The environmental protection is, after all, a great event or a major issue for the humankind. So it is a good thing to press ahead with the issue. Doing any thing good should merit respect and encouragement, and it does not matter even if there are some hidden selfish ideas or personal considerations involved. Furthermore, the work of environment protection is alive with the characteristics epitomizing a very strong, global public welfare undertaking. As far as Japan is concerned, public awareness should be especially notified and enhanced as part of an effort to avert environmental protection from being turned into a move solely to make commercial profits.
By People's Daily Online, and its author is senior PD desk editor Wang Qing
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article