Japan, China agree to cooperate over air pollution

BEIJING (Kyodo) -- Japan and China agreed Friday to promote technical cooperation and to explore further measures for dealing with air pollution in China, a Japanese government official said.

At working-level talks in Beijing, Japan expressed eagerness to cooperate on tackling pollution, noting it not only affects people in China but could also affect Japan's environment, the official said.

China explained its measures for fighting pollution and said it will look into how Japan could cooperate, according to the official.

Beijing also said it seeks to forge trilateral cooperation over the issue with South Korea, which is located nearer to China, the official said.

The talks were held at Japan's urging to consider measures against so-called PM2.5 air pollution, or hazardous particulate matter 2.5 microns or 2.5 thousandths of a millimeter in diameter or less that can cause health problems.

Japan hopes that its technology can be used to help trace the origins of PM2.5 and to predict how it will spread, the official said.

In January, a thick blanket of toxic smog covered a large part of China, stoking fears that it may spread to Japan.

The meeting was attended by officials from the Japanese foreign, environment and industry ministries, as well as representatives from the Chinese environment ministry, the official said.

In Tokyo, Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said in the morning press conference that the Japanese government intends to compile provisional measures sometime this month to deal with air pollution originating from China.

The steps include strengthening monitoring at local municipalities and issuing a warning to the public when pollutants in the air reach a certain level, the chief Cabinet secretary said.

Resource: The Mainichi