Japan should cut emissions 15 pct (from 1990 levels) by 2020: minister

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Japan should cut emissions 15 pct by 2020: minister

TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's environment minister said Tuesday the world's second largest economy should cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 15 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

Tetsuo Saito said Japan could meet the target through greater solar power development, cleaner cars and ecologically friendly homes.

He said Japan could aim for a 25 percent cut if it factored in carbon trading, forest absorption of carbon dioxide and its contributions to developing countries.

Prime Minister Taro Aso plans to announce Japan's so-called mid-term target in June ahead of a December meeting in Copenhagen set to hammer out a new climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2012.

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