The Abe government has shown shameful attitudes twice to the rest of the world for last one month. One is opposition to the UN resolution to start negotiation in 2017 to conclude a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons, and the other is a delay in ratifying the Paris Agreement, a new international framework to tackle the threat of climate change. The fact symbolizes the government’s reactionary nature, a disgraceful reality.


REACTIONARY ABE GOVERNMENT EXPOSES SHAMEFUL ATTEITUDES


The New Socialist Party issued a statement on the same day (October 28 of the Japanese Time) when the UN Commission adopted the resolution to begin negotiation to conclude a treaty of prohibition of nuclear weapons, while the Japanese government opposed it. The party document criticizes that ‘Japan, as the sole atomic-bombed country, must not fail to agree’. The Japanese government’s ‘opposition’ not only betrays sincere hope of people of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Fukushima but also peoples in the world who earnestly wish elimination of this kind of arms.


What is Priority?


The Paris Agreement entered into force on November 4, with participation of 97 countries, covering 70% of the total greenhouse gas emission of the earth. The government of Japan was planned to unanimously adopt a draft of approval in the plenary session of the House of Representatives on the same day, but it botched. It is because the ruling parties had forcibly passed the bills on TPP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership program, in the Special Committee of the said House. It was October 8 that the session ratified the agreement to strengthen the global response to climate change. That was dishonor.


No more shameful acts! The Abe government boasts of ‘politics to solve problems’, but manages outrageously. It does not seem he knows priority of issues. His politics has sunk deep into the bottom. As a comedian and singer-song-writer, Asahi Noboru, uses his famous question, the author of this column wants to ask to the readers, ‘Do you agree with me?


Abe Government Still Remains Aggressive


The 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is being held in Marrakech, Morocco, during the period of November 7 and 18. The parties count 197 nations and areas. The first session of the Conference of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1) is held with attendance of approximately 20 thousand people of governments and NGOs from November 15.


Japan, as it failed to ratify the agreement by October 19, the deadline to be a formal party, joins as an observer who does not have the right to vote. The Japanese government was not enthusiastic. It was October 11 when the cabinet meeting approved the draft for ratification. It was only eight days before the deadline of procedure. Failure was obvious at that moment.


In the meetings of COP and CMA parties discuss how to set concrete rules of the Paris Agreement and how to verify progress of the objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emission. The CMA finalizes the rules. It will take time to adopt rules and the current CMA meetings will not reach an accord. Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide told ‘(though Japan has no voting right) no serious setback will be made’. The posture is too overconfident to conceal the mistake.


Emission should be Zero


The Paris Agreement was adopted in the meeting of parties of COP21 held last December in Paris. It has a strong legal binding force in the same way as the Kyoto Protocol. In the agreement the objective is set to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels on the worldwide scale. It aims to strengthen the ability of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emission practically to zero in the latter half of this century.



November 15, 2016