Environmental groups attending the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico, are criticizing Japan for opposing an extension of the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012. On Wednesday, Japan confirmed that it wants Kyoto to expire, citing the lack of participation by the U.S. and China. Yuri Onodera of Friends of the Earth Japan criticized the Japanese stance.

Yuri Onodera: “I think that Japan also has to recognize its responsibility, both historical and as well as today’s responsibility, as one of the per capita highest polluter in the world. This is not negotiating tactics, but this is a highest-level decision by the prime minister himself, so this is a very hardline position taken by our government.”