TOKYO - Japan's powerful business lobby Keidanren is dominated by energy-intensive sectors that represent less than 10 per cent of the economy, resulting in national policies that favour coal and hindering attempts to combat climate change, a new study said.
It added the most powerful industries within Keidanren only employ about 2.7 million, while those with little influence employ 10 times that number. Japan later adopted a goal of achieving carbon neutrality as soon as possible in the latter half of this century, rather than an explicit 2050 emissions target.
InfluenceMap noted that other groups in Japan which count blue-chip firms from the retail, finance, tech and construction sectors among their members - such as the Japan Climate Initiative and Japan Climate Leaders' Partnership - have sharply criticised the government's climate change efforts.