Japan PM: Emissions-goal base year is current levels

TOYAKO, Japan (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Tuesday the base year for a goal of at least halving global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 -- agreed on by Group of Eight leaders on Tuesday -- was "current levels".

That would appear to be at odds with the position of the European Union and climate change activists, who insist that base year should be 1990.

Fukuda also said the G8 rich nations had agreed to set "ambitious midterm targets" for cutting their own emissions in order to achieve the long-term goal.

"To achieve an absolute reduction in emissions, G8 countries will each set ambitious midterm targets," Fukuda told reporters at the luxury hotel where the G8 leaders were holding their annual summit.

(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka; Editing by Hugh Lawson)