news20090907usat1

[Todays' News] from [USA Today]

[Sports > MLB]
Monday, September 7, 2009

!!! Mr. 2,000: Ichiro reaches milestone in near-record time !!!
OAKLAND (AP) — Scott Hairston (FSY) took advantage of a second chance. Ichiro took advantage of the second pitch.

Suzuki reached the milestone on a double in the first inning against Gio Gonzalez (FSY) (5-5), who went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits.

GAME REPORT: A's 5, Mariners 2

Ichiro's 2,000th hit was overshadowed by the go-ahead grand slam Hairston hit in the seventh inning to help the Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2 Sunday.

Suzuki reached the milestone on a double in the first inning against Gio Gonzalez (FSY) (5-5), who went a career-high seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits.

"I was very clueless to what happened," Gonzalez said. "He's the first batter, I tried to go inside and he gets a leadoff hit. He did his job and I congratulate him."

Hairston popped up with the bases loaded in the fifth inning against Seattle starter Doug Fister (FSY). When he found himself in the same situation two innings later, he delivered.

"He's been struggling lately but the ball jumps off his bat," A's manager Bob Geren said. "He's getting a chance to play every day and he'll only keep getting better."

Hairston made an impression on Geren when he homered twice in a spring training game.

"It was kind of our introduction to him," said Geren. "It was 'Wow, who is that?' Little did we know then he'd be with us a few months later."

Landon Powell (FSY) also homered for the A's, who won their second in a row.

Jose Lopez (FSY) and Adrian Beltre (FSY) drove in runs for the Mariners, who had won nine of their previous 13 and seemed on their way in this one before Hairston's slam off Scott Kelley (4-2).

Fister lasted five innings, giving up a run on six hits before leaving after developing a blister.

"He developed it about the third inning and he did a good job of getting through five," Mariners' manager Don Wakamatsu said. "It's unfortunate because from the beginning it looked he was going to pitch a heck of a game."

Brad Ziegler (FSY) pitched the eighth and Andrew Bailey (FSY) got the final three outs for his 23rd save in 27 chances, including the last 18 in a row.

Suzuki, who has a 17-game hitting streak against the A's, drilled Gonzalez's second pitch down the right field line for a double and hit No. 2,000.

"No matter what the situation is I want to get a hit as early as possible," Suzuki said through an interpreter. "Personally it's not a big surprise, but looking back to my first spring training when I was criticized, it does have meaning now."

The Mariners' outfielder, who accumulated 1,278 hits in Japan, became the second-fastest to 2,000 hits, recording it in his 1,402 major-league game. Al Simmons did it in game 1,390.

"I knew he could play baseball and he's just fun to watch," Mariners' outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. said. "That's a special day for him and for all of us. It's nice to see history made. Five more hits and we get to watch it all over again."

Even before the ball fell in front of the Seattle bullpen, fans stood to cheer Ichiro, who led off a game with a hit for the 215th time.

"He's a special player," Wakamatsu said. "He'll continue to tack on record after record as long as he stays healthy."

Suzuki has 128 hits in Oakland, his favorite road park. His 227 hits against the A's is his second most behind the 239 he's earned against the Texas Rangers.

Suzuki, the 259th player to reach the milestone, went 1-for-4 and needs five more hits for 200 on the season, which would break the record he shares with Willie Keeler at nine consecutive seasons with 200.

Notes: Mariners' OF Franklin Gutierrez (FSY) recorded his AL-leading 12th sacrifice bunt. ... The Mariners have scored in the first or second inning in nine of their past 13 games. ... Gonzalez allowed 31 runs in his first 34 innings at home. ... Bailey tied Oakland's rookie record for saves, matching Huston Street (FSY) with his 23rd.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


[News > Nation]
Gunman in Calif. Jewish center attack says he's sorry

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A white supremacist who killed a postal worker and wounded five people at a Los Angeles area Jewish community center in a 1999 shooting spree says he has renounced his racist views.
In a letter to a Los Angeles Daily News reporter, Buford O. Furrow Jr. says he regrets the pain he has caused.

Furrow, who is serving a life sentence with no chance of parole, describes himself as a "model inmate who has shunned criminal activity."

He says he has thrown away his neo-Nazi literature and now believes "a life based on hate is no life at all."

Ten years ago Furrow wounded three little children, a teenager and an adult at a Granada Hills community center. He later killed letter carrier Joseph S. Ileto.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

news20090907usat2

[Todays' News] from [USA Today]

[News > Nation]
What will rise at Ground Zero?
By Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press

NEW YORK — The five skyscrapers were all supposed to rise by early next decade to replace the ravaged World Trade Center, with the city's tallest towers set in a spiral evoking the Statue of Liberty's torch.
They would frame a massive memorial in a tree-filled park, plus a theater and a transportation hub with uplifted wings — one of several symbols intended to defy the terrorists who destroyed the 16-acre site in under two hours.

Standing on the site now — a multi-level labyrinth of concrete and steel, from the entrance resembling the rooftops of an underground city — the sweeping design unveiled 6 1/2 years ago still hasn't materialized.

And while the most symbolic pieces of the puzzle at Ground Zero are taking shape, it's become increasingly clear that the grand scheme will take decades to be fully completed, if it ever is at all.

Vickie Cooper had mixed feelings as she peered through a fence at the site's stark northeast corner, a spot reserved for a skyscraper now mired in arbitration over its financing.

Its history is "too sad to even really think about progress," said the 48-year-old Austin, Texas, insurance worker. But "I am a little surprised — I thought there'd be something built there."

When will there be? As the eighth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks approaches, there's no firm due date for that office tower or two others supposed to help line the eastern side of the site; only one is under construction.

Developer Larry Silverstein has gone to an arbitrator to renegotiate his lease with the site's government owner after months of fruitless negotiations. An analysis done for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey this spring projected there might be no market for Silverstein's third tower until 2030.

The fifth tower in the spiral is rarely discussed as viable. The spot reserved for it is still covered by a skyscraper contaminated with toxic debris from the attacks, its dismantling slowed after a 2007 blaze killed two firefighters. There's no finished design or money and little public pressure for the performing arts center.

A poll last month found that more than half of New York City voters believe the rebuilding is going badly. More than 60% don't believe the highest-priority projects — the 1,776-foot Freedom Tower and the Sept. 11 memorial — will be finished by announced deadlines. The Quinnipiac University poll of 1,290 voters had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

The doubts don't surprise Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward.

"The only way you could cure that skepticism is to deliver on the things we are now delivering on," he said this week as roughly 1,000 workers labored on the site.

The Freedom Tower's frame is several stories above street level. Work has begun on one Silverstein tower and continues on underground elements of the $3.2 billion transit hub. The memorial pools' outline and plaza — some built from a pit 70 feet below ground to street level — have filled in a swath of the site.

"It's not a pit," Ward said. "Now, it's a sense of rebirth."

Daniel Libeskind's master design was chosen in early 2003 amid an atmosphere of unfettered possibility. Officials praised the plan's bold symbolism and its vision of a bustling business district enhanced by shops, restaurants and arts that repair the broken skyline and honor the nearly 2,800 people killed.

To Libeskind, it was and remains "a coherent and a complete vision."

"My hopes and my vision haven't changed," he said in an interview this week. "At the center of the desire to do this is really to create an inspiring place ... an affirmation of American values."

Political wrangling, engineering complications and the recession pushed completion dates back and sent cost estimates up by billions of dollars since the first plans were released. The Port Authority pushed back its timeline last fall, saying the memorial, Freedom Tower and transit hub would open between 2011 and 2014.

Ward said the four office towers — three planned by Silverstein — would be built when the battered economy, which has emptied existing towers of commercial space across the city, allows it.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whose district includes Ground Zero, said it's crucial to build all the planned the office space, noting that terrorists deliberately struck at the nation's financial capital.

"We committed eight years ago that we were going to rebuild bigger and better than ever. If we're not going to do that, then we're sending a terrible message," he said.

Silverstein — who leased the towers six weeks before the attacks — has said the delays that he has blamed on the Port Authority have cost the project public confidence.

Putting off the office towers much longer would dishonor a commitment to respond to the attacks and "would really be a stain on New York's reputation and image," said Janno Lieber, who runs the project for Silverstein Properties.

Other local businesses fear being stuck around a construction site for years, said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a business group.

"Can the site be made functional and attractive without completing it?" she said.

Some other key players involved in the planning now stress deliberation over bold strokes.

Former Gov. George Pataki stressed urgency at the site in dozens of speeches after unveiling a since-delayed timetable for the Freedom Tower in 2003.

In the beginning, "there was a tremendous sense of time urgency, and personally, I would like to see that continue today to every element of the site," said Pataki, who left office in 2006.

But how long Ground Zero takes to rebuild won't matter to future generations, he said.

"I'd rather have it right than yesterday, and this is being done right," Pataki said.

Libeskind — who envisioned it all — watches the construction from his studio window blocks away.

What ultimately gets built — whenever that happens — "will really be the plan that I drew, at its core."

He would not, he says, have done anything differently.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

news20090907bbc1

[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]

[Science & Environment]
Page last updated at 06:41 GMT, Monday, 7 September 2009 07:41 UK
Japan's next leader has promised a big cut in greenhouse gas emissions, saying he will aim for a 25% reduction by 2020 compared to 1990 levels.

Yukio Hatoyama is due to take over as prime minister on 16 September, after a resounding election victory in August.

His announcement is part of his Democratic Party's assertive policy on green issues. His predecessor, Taro Aso, had pledged cuts of only 8%.

Japan will present its new target at December's climate talks in Copenhagen.

Mid-term goal

Japan is the world's second-largest economy and fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which are a major contributor to global warming.

"As a mid-term goal, we aim at a 25% reduction by 2020 from 1990, based on the levels demanded by science to stop global warming," said Mr Hatoyama.

Speaking at a Tokyo conference on climate change, Mr Hatoyama said his target was premised on ambitious goals being agreed by other major nations.

But the plans have already sparked resistance from business groups in Japan.

Parts of the automotive industry are expected to lobby against the tough emissions targets.


[UK]
Page last updated at 06:47 GMT, Monday, 7 September 2009 07:47 UK
Gaddafi son resists IRA pay-out
The son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi has said his country will resist demands from the families of IRA victims for compensation.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said any claims for compensation based on Libya's supply of explosives to the IRA would be a matter for "the courts".

He told Sky News: "They have their lawyers, we have our lawyers."

Compensation campaigners welcomed Mr Gaddafi's remarks as a "positive sign of engagement".

On Sunday the relatives also welcomed Gordon Brown's announcement on the government's support for compensation.

Mr Gaddafi's comments came hours after Mr Brown announced that he was setting up a dedicated Foreign Office team to assist the IRA families' victims.

The move was seen by opposition MPs as an U-turn, which had left Britain looking "weak". These claims are denied by Downing Street.

'Sign of engagement'

Speaking about the looming British attempts to claim compensation, the Libyan leader's son said: "Anyone can knock on our door. You go to the court."

And when asked if his answer to the compensation demand would be "no" in the first instance, he replied: "Of course."

The response by Mr Gaddafi - seen by many as the most likely successor to his father's leadership - was welcomed by campaigners as a sign of Libyan "engagement".

Victims' families' lawyer Jason McCue said: "I am optimistic about the Libyan response.

"It means they have decided to engage with us whereas previously there was no engagement.

"We always expected this to go to the courts and now it means there will be a process to getting compensation."

The families had previously welcomed the prime minister's change of mind over whether or not it was "appropriate" to put pressure on Libya.

Mr McCue told the BBC their cases "had been very much in the hands of the civil servants", so they had gone "straight to the prime minister".

"We asked for a principled decision, rather than a bureaucratic decision," he said.

He did not believe it was a U-turn by the prime minister, he said, as Mr Brown had "overruled the Foreign Office".

Mr McCue also criticised opposition parties for dabbling in "petty politics" over the issue.

On relations with Libya, he said, we were "dealing" with the past. "We are talking. I think that's very positive".

'Disgusting, immoral'

Also in the interview with Sky News, Mr Gaddafi condemned British opposition politicians as "disgusting and immoral" for using the case of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi to make political capital.

"They are trying to use this human tragedy for their own political agenda," he said.

"It's completely immoral to use this case to advance your own political agenda."

On the question of whether Prime Minister Gordon Brown had involved himself in the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Mr Gaddafi said: "He didn't."

The discussions had been "very, very technical", he said.

He added: "It couldn't be discussed at a high level. It is not something that should be discussed at a leadership level."

Earlier on Sunday, Conservative foreign affairs spokesman William Hague said Gordon Brown's change of mind was a "stunning admission" that the government had failed to support the families of the victims of IRA terrorism.

He said: "The British government should have provided active support as a matter of course, not as a result of public pressure.

"But Gordon Brown and the government he leads have long lost their moral compass."


[Business]
Page last updated at 06:53 GMT, Monday, 7 September 2009 07:53 UK
Kraft in £10.2bn move for Cadbury
US food giant Kraft has proposed buying confectionary giant Cadbury in a £10.2bn ($16.7bn) move.

Kraft said that the purchase of the maker of Dairy Milk would protect jobs in the UK - including saving a factory earmarked for closure.

Cadbury had "unequivocally" rejected the approach, Kraft said.

Kraft added it wanted to build on Cadbury's brands and that a deal would create "a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionary and quick meals."

Distribution savings

As well as Daily Milk, Cadbury also owns the Green & Black's chocolate brand and Halls lozenges, Trident and Dentyne gum brands, and liquorice allsorts maker Bassett's. It span off its drinks division as a separate business last year.

Kraft's brands include Kenco coffee, Oreo biscuits, Terry's Chocolate Orange and Toblerone as well as cheese products such as Philadelphia and Dairylea.

The proposed deal would allow up to $625m a year to be saved in distribution, marketing and product development costs, Kraft said.

It added that Cadbury's brands were "highly complementary" to its portfolio and "would benefit from Kraft Foods' global scope and scale and array of proprietary technologies and processes".

'Iconic brands'

"As we have done, Cadbury has built wonderful brands by focusing on quality, innovation and marketing, but we believe the next stage in Cadbury's development will be challenging, given the increased importance of scale in the industry." said Kraft chairman Irene Rosenfeld.

"We are eager to build upon Cadbury's iconic brands and strong British heritage through increased investment and innovation. We have great respect and admiration for Cadbury, its employees, its leadership and its proud heritage."

Industry analysts have been speculating that there could be consolidation in the food sector.

Kraft said its possible offer - based on paying 745 pence for every Cadbury's share - was a 31% premium to its closing price last week and 42% more than the firm's shares were worth in early July, when speculation about possible deals in the sector intensified.

In a letter to Cadbury's, Ms Rosenfeld said it would be able to continue to operate the its Somerdale factory in Keynsham, near Bristol, which is set to be close, and also invest in its plant in Bournville, Birmingham, "thereby preserving UK manufacturing jobs".

news20090907bbc2

[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]

[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 04:37 GMT, Monday, 7 September 2009 05:37 UK
Flood prompts South Korea protest
South Korea has protested to North Korea after an apparent dam discharge from the North created a flash flood that swept away six people.

Rescuers are still searching for the victims after floodwater hit five campers and a fishermen on Sunday.

Seoul has demanded an explanation and called on its neighbour to give prior warning of any dam water releases.

The incident happened as cross-border ties were improving after more than a year of tensions.

"The government has expressed regret that a North Korean dam along the Imjin River released water yesterday without prior notice and caused big damage, including six of our citizens going missing," South Korea's unification ministry said.

Thousands of troops have been mobilised to search for the missing. Rescuers reportedly found the dead body of one of those missing.

Unintended consequences

Members of South Korea's ruling Grand National Party have demanded an apology for the discharge, describing it as "an unpardonable criminal act".

At this point, we still wouldn't quite call it a water assault

South Korean defence ministry spokesman
When North Korea first broke ground on a major dam in 1986, South Korea was preparing for its hosting of the 1988 Olympics and expressed fears that dam water could be released to deluge the South.

However, Seoul said on Monday that it did not view the latest incident as deliberately provocative.

"At this point, we still wouldn't quite call it a water assault," defence ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae told a briefing. "There has to be intention present for us to be able to do that."

North Korean dams have previously released water without prior announcement, damaging agriculture south of the border. Sunday's incident was the first to claim lives.

South Korea's unification ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said the South was requesting an explanation from the North and had "strongly urged" North Korea not to repeat similar incidents.

The North last month freed five South Korean detainees, eased border curbs, and sent envoys from Pyongyang for talks with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

Although the cause of the flood has not been confirmed, the BBC's John Sudworth says concerns have been raised in the past that North Korean dams could cause both droughts and floods in the South, depending on the time of year.


[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 02:41 GMT, Monday, 7 September 2009 03:41 UK
Samoan cars ready to switch sides
Drivers in Samoa in the South Pacific are preparing to switch from driving on the right side of the road to the left after a rule change by the government.
By Nick Bryant

The move survived a late legal appeal by the protest group People Against Switching Sides (Pass), who have argued that it will cause chaos.

The government brought about the change to bring Samoa into line with other South Pacific nations.

It is the first country since the 1970s to bring about such a change.

The switchover is due to start at 0550 on Monday (1650GMT), when radio messages will broadcast telling drivers to stop and to prepare to overturn 100 years of motoring tradition.

At the top of the hour will follow a second instruction: to move from the right to the left side of the road.

Import driver

Critics of the plan claim it will bring mayhem to the highways and byways of this remote South Pacific nation.

{ Cars are going to crash, people are going to die - not to mention the huge expense to our country
Tole'afoa Solomona Toa'iloa
Samoa lawyer}

Bus drivers have also protested that their doors will now open on the wrong side, in the middle of the road.

But the Samoan government introduced the change to end its reliance on expensive, left-hand drive imports from America.

It hopes that Samoan expatriates in Australia and New Zealand will now ship used, more affordable vehicles back to their homeland.

To minimise the chaos, a two-day national holiday has been declared to keep cars off the road, and prayers have been said at the country's churches in the hope of blessing the changeover.


[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 15:30 GMT, Sunday, 6 September 2009 16:30 UK
China warning to syringe stabbers
China has warned anyone found guilty of syringe attacks that led to protests in the western city of Urumqi could face the death penalty, state media reports.

Harsh punishment would be meted out to those who carried out stabbings with hypodermic needles, the Xinhua news agency said.

Twenty-five people have reportedly been held over the attacks in the capital of north-western Xinjiang region.

Chinese officials have blamed Uighur Muslim separatists for the incidents.

At least five people have died this week in ethnic unrest triggered by the stabbings, with thousands of angry Han Chinese staging daily mass protests.

Heavy security presence

The Xinhua report, citing a notice from the municipal court, said penalties for those who stabbed others with syringes containing poisonous or harmful substances would range from three years in jail to the death sentence.

Correspondents said Urumqi was calmer on Sunday, although the security presence was still heavy.

Riot police have withdrawn from positions around the city and state television showed local officials visiting residents and hearing grievances.

On Saturday, Urumqi Communist Party leader Li Zhi and Xinjiang provincial police chief Liu Yaohua were both sacked as Beijing sought to bring the crisis under control.

China's Public Security Minister, Meng Jianzhu, has said the syringe attacks were a continuation of unrest in July in which 200 people - mostly Han Chinese - were killed in ethnic riots.

Xinjiang's population is evenly split between Uighurs and Han Chinese - the country's majority ethnic group. But Hans make up three-quarters of Urumqi's population.

news20090907gc

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]


[environment >10:10 climate change campaign]
Brown turns down heat and Mandelson gets on his bike to support 10:10
Politicians pledge to make lifestyle changes as part of campaign to cut emissions by 10% by the end of 2010
James Randerson
guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 September 2009 23.42 BST Article history

Gordon Brown will be turning the heating down in Downing Street; Lord Mandelson plans to cycle more; Oliver Letwin is installing solar water heating and Nick Clegg is considering eating less meat.

These are among the lifestyle changes revealed by senior politicians from across the political spectrum as part of their pledge to the 10:10 climate change campaign, which requires cutting emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. The 10:10 campaign, which launched last week at London's Tate Modern, has signed up nearly 13,000 people as well as numerous hundreds of businesses, organisations, universities and schools. The entire cabinet and Tory front bench have pledged to do their bit for the campaign.

The prime minister said he would turn down his central heating by one degree, ensure his appliances were not left on standby and recycle more. "It is these small changes that, if everyone does them, will make a big difference," Brown said, "With fewer than 100 days until [UN climate talks in Copenhagen], this is a great opportunity to show we are all prepared to take action."

Mandelson, who is often criticised by environmentalists for placing business interests above green concerns, said: "To reduce my carbon footprint, I am going to cycle even more, look out for a smart meter [and] stop leaving the TV on standby."

He pointed out that he has not owned a car for years and, referring to the protest by Leila Deen in March, he added, "I've been engaged in the low carbon agenda for years, long before that misguided young lady threw a cup of slime on me."

The opposition has also pledged to cut emissions. Oliver Letwin, who chairs the Conservative party's policy review, said he was in the process of installing solar water heating and he had already fitted low-energy light bulbs.

Grant Shapps, the shadow housing minister, uses a real-time energy meter to monitor how much electricity he is using. Caroline Spelman, the shadow communities secretary, said she had already double glazed her home, replaced conventional light bulbs with energy-savers and increased the thickness of her loft insulation.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "The 10:10 campaign is one of those fantastic initiatives encouraging people now to take action before it's too late."

He is considering cutting down his meat consumption, using the train more, using his laptop instead of his desktop computer and switching to a greener taxi company.

The energy and climate change minister, Ed Miliband, said he planned to use a home energy monitor to flag up when he had left equipment switched on. "That could mean a cut of between five and 15%. It won't just save CO2, it'll save cash too," he said.

The 10:10 project, which hopes to replicate the grassroots success of 2005's Make Poverty History campaign, is led by Franny Armstrong, the director of this year's eco-documentary The Age of Stupid. It is supported by the Guardian and has attracted a coalition of public figures and companies including the online supermarket Ocado, city law firm Slaughter and May, energy company E.ON, chef Delia Smith, author Ian McEwan, DJ Sara Cox and actor Colin Firth..


[Environment > Climate change]
Japan's new prime minister promises ambitious greenhouse gas cuts
Yukio Hatoyama seeks to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 September 2009 13.57 BST Article

Japan's new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, has promised to make ambitious cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, months before world leaders meet for crucial climate change talks.

Hatoyama, who will take office next week, said Japan would seek to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, but said the target would be contingent on a deal involving all major emitters in Copenhagen in December.

"We can't stop climate change just by setting our own emissions target," he said at a forum in Tokyo. "Our nation will call on major countries around the world to set aggressive goals."

Hatoyama will discuss the initiative, which is far more ambitious than the equivalent 8% cut unveiled by the outgoing government in June, at a UN meeting on climate change in New York this month.

Connie Hedegaard, Denmark's minister for climate and energy, described the plan as a bold step forward. "For a long time, everybody has been waiting for everybody else to move in the negotiations. Japan has taken a bold step forward and set an ambitious target. I hope this will inspire other countries to follow suit."

The commitment places Japan firmly among countries committed to aggressive CO2 emissions cuts, despite mounting opposition from business and industry groups, which claim the measures will put jobs at risk.

"We have concerns about its feasibility in view of the impact on economic activities and employment, as well as the enormousness of the public burden," said Satoshi Aoki, the chairman of the Japan automobile manufacturers' association.

Harufumi Mochizuki, the outgoing vice minister of trade and industry, said Hatoyama had chosen a "very tough road ahead for the Japanese people and economy".

Hatoyama said his plan would create jobs in sectors such as renewables and manufacturing amid an expected rise in demand for solar energy, home renovations and energy-efficient cars and consumer electronics.

"There are cautious people who worry that it will hurt the economy and livelihoods, but I think it will change things for the better," he said.

To help achieve the reduction, Japan will create a domestic emissions trading market and introduce a "feed-in" tariff – financial rewards for industries that expand their use of renewable energy sources.

The Copenhagen talks will be dominated by attempts to persuade China, India and other big emerging economies to sign up to emissions targets.

Kim Carstensen, the head of the WWF's global climate initiative, said: "The decision by an important player such as Japan to do more and get serious about low carbon future can help break the deadlock between developed and developing countries.

"The climate negotiations are at a critical point and we need urgent progress to get a fair, ambitious and binding deal in Copenhagen."

The target brings Japan, the world's fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, alongside the EU, which is committed to a 20% cut by 2020 from 1990 levels and 30% if other nations agree to match the target. But it is still at the lower end of the 25-40% cuts recommended by the UN climate change panel.

Hatoyama will have to reconcile his bold initiative with election pledges to eliminate road tolls and petrol surcharges.

As host of the Kyoto summit in 1997, Japan is keen to reposition itself at the forefront of the battle against climate change. Its emissions rose 2.3% in the year to March 2008, putting its 16% above its 2012 Kyoto target.

Yvo de Boer, the head of the UN climate change secretariat, said: "With such a target, Japan will take on the leadership role that industrialised countries have agreed to take in climate change abatement."