Japan urges UN to abide by principles of 'Mottainai'

Mainichi Daily News
Feb 14, 2008

Japan appealed to the United Nations member states the importance of not keeping wasteful lifestyles, or "Mottainai", on Wednesday as part of the UN's thematic debate on climate change.
"We must recognize that there are things we can do right now, and get to work on them. Most importantly, we should promote eco-lifestyles - Mottainai (not wasteful) lifestyle," said Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu to the UN audience.
Mottainai is a Japanese term that can be roughly interpreted in English as "What a waste!" The word was spread by Kenyan environmentalist and Noble Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai as a catchphrase for promoting lifestyles of reducing waste, reusing resources, and recycling, according to the Mottainai campaign office in Japan.
"Recycling should be encouraged, and our homes and offices could be maintained in an energy-efficient manner," Takasu appealed to the member states.
Takasu also said Japan is willing to transfer high standard environmental technology to other countries to conserve energy and reduce the amount of CO2 emissions there.
The UN thematic debate was aimed at discussing how the United Nations can collaborate with member states, the private sector and civil society to collectively address the issue of climate change. The debate started Feb. 11 and ended Wednesday. (By Atsuko Teramoto, Mainichi New York Bureau)
（Mainichi Japan） February 14, 2008