Japan's PM offers more climate aid for poor nations

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Japan's new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, pledged in a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday to offer more aid to help developing countries deal with climate change.

His Democratic Party government, which won a landslide election victory last month, has taken a more proactive stance on climate change than its long-ruling predecessor, sparking protests from a powerful business lobby that says industry could be put at a disadvantage.

"Japan is prepared to offer more financial and technical assistance than in the past, in accordance with the progress of the international negotiations," Hatoyama told a climate change summit, noting that vast amounts of money were needed.

Hatoyama also proposed setting up a new framework to coordinate climate change aid, but did not give details of how much cash or what kind of technological assistance Japan would provide.

He reiterated Japan's promise to target greenhouse gas emission cuts of 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, compared with the previous government's 8 percent target, winning a round of applause.

"I recognize that Japan is expected to take the lead in the international community in setting its own reduction target and to achieve such target through the development of innovative technologies," he said.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)