Japan PM announces plan to cut emissions

However, he stopped short of announcing a plan for emissions cuts by 2020, the focus of ongoing international negotiations.

The Kyoto Protocol's obligations for rich nations to slash emissions run out in 2012.      

"Japan as a nation will try to establish a low-carbon society that we can be proud of to the world by setting a long-term target of reducing greenhouse emissions by 60 to 80 per cent from the current level by 2050," Fukuda told a news conference.