Japanese See Priority in Forest Conservation
Copyright 2001 Jiji Press Ltd
September 29, 2001
Tokyo, Sept. 29 - A majority of Japanese nationals in a recent poll placed priority on forest conservation and tree-planting campaigns as key government measures to help prevent global warming, the government said Saturday.
The survey by the Cabinet Office also found that only one in every five people claimed knowledge of the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty that sets greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. As much as 31.3 pct of the respondents knew nothing about the treaty, while 47.4 pct said they have heard of the term.
Among government actions, the tally for forest protection and tree-planting campaigns came to 60.4 pct. The number, including overlaps, was followed by 45.6 pct preferring promotion of solar and wind energy as new power sources and by 41.7 pct supporting eco-friendly automobiles.
As for individuals' efforts to protect the environment, the largest 70.4 pct said they should reduce garbage and step up recycling.
The approval rate for the introduction of the summer time daylight saving system in Japan came to 50.9 pct, easily beating the 28.8 pct opposing it.
The survey, conducted between June 28 and July 8, covered 5,000 adults nationwide, with 70.8 pct of them responding.