Japan, China, South Korea to cooperate on air pollution

TOKYO: Japan, China and South Korea agreed yesterday to continue cooperating in the fight against cross-border air pollution, despite strained relations between the neighbours because of territorial disputes.

The annual environmental meeting in Kitakyushu, southern Japan, on Sunday and yesterday, came after acrid haze blanketing swathes of China earlier this year sparked health warnings in Japan as the smog spread across the ocean.

“Air pollution and climate change are common issues in the region,” Japan’s Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara told his counterparts in remarks carried by public broadcaster NHK.

“Apart from domestic countermeasures, it is indispensable for China, South Korea and other countries to cooperate in solving them.” — AFP