In 2018, Japan started raising its profile in the global climate discourse. In a landmark op-ed in the Financial Times, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo called on the world to “join 1 Japan and act now to save the planet”, expressing his willingness to lead on climate action. The Japanese government has identified climate change as one of the key issues to be addressed by the G20 Leaders at the Summit in Osaka June 28-29. However, 2 Japan’s entanglement with fossil fuels both domestically and overseas is an obvious contradiction to Mr Abe’s promise to lead climate action
