Japanese greenhouse gas emissions rose to a record high in the year to March, putting it at risk of an embarrassing failure to achieve its Kyoto target over the next four years.
The increase of 2.3 percent last year, largely due to the closure of the biggest nuclear power plant in Japan after an earthquake, will increase the pressure for it to give up its efforts to control emissions through voluntary measures and adopt tougher limits on industry like the European Union and Australia.
Japan is the world's fifth-largest carbon dioxide producer, behind the United States, China, Russia and India.
With developing countries already questioning Tokyo's political will to rein in emissions, Japanese actions will be seen as a milestone as governments struggle to agree on a successor to the protocol next year.
Emissions rose to 1.371 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in the Japanese fiscal year through March, after a 1.3 percent decline the previous year, data from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment showed Wednesday.
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