Strasbourg, 23/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - European and Japanese leaders met on Wednesday 23 April in Tokyo for the 17th bilateral EU-Japan summit. They appealed for binding objectives in the fight against global warming and expressed hopes for a “breakthrough” in this direction at the G8 summit, chaired this year by Japan in Hokkaido, next July. In a joint declaration they affirmed that “a highly ambitious and binding international approach is required to deal with the scale and urgency of the climate change challenge”. The acting president of the European Council - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso and their host, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fakuda, say that they are “determined to promote the strategic EU-Japan strategic partnership to meet the global challenges facing us”. Climate change is at the top of these challenges and the two partners are calling for medium-term targets to be set on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which they regard as an “essential element” in a post Kyoto Protocol agreement (this agreement expires in 2012). Although Mr Barroso confirmed “a convergence of views” between them, the two partners' declaration did not set any targets. The EU has made a unilateral commitment to reducing its emissions by 20% by 2020 and by 30% if an international agreement is reached. The Japanese, however, are, like the USA, not putting any reduction figures forward in advance. At the beginning of the year, however, Tokyo announced that it would set its own national reduction objective. On Wednesday, Mr Fakuda outlined the Japanese sectoral emissions approach in each economic domain and stated: “I believe there was an understanding shown from the EU towards our approach, which will be effective in ensuring fairness in setting national targets”. European and Japanese leaders also called for urgent action to tackle the world food crisis and noted “with strong concern, the trends of high prices of natural resources and commodities, in particular of food and oil”. They highlighted “the urgent need to address the issue, particularly in light of its acute impact on developing countries' efforts to overcome poverty” and attain the Millennium Objectives. In this context they deplored the “worrying fall” in public development aid for the second consecutive year in 2007, and Mr Barroso said that he hoped that the Japanese presidency of the G8 would “put the Millennium Objectives back in the spotlight of world attention”. Finally, European and Japanese leaders made a commitment to “work together to strengthen stability on the financial markets”. (E.H.)