Photo/Illutration Plaintiffs speak at a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 18 about their climate change lawsuit against the government. (Tetsuji Asano)

A group of activists has filed a lawsuit against the government, arguing that it is not doing enough to address climate change and is violating their fundamental rights.

In the case submitted to the Tokyo District Court on Dec. 18, each of the 452 plaintiffs is seeking a symbolic 1,000 yen ($6.40) in damages.

The plaintiffs are from across the country. They claim that increasingly extreme heat and frequent natural disasters threaten their health, property and ability to live in a sustainable environment.

“Climate change is a human rights issue, yet the government has failed to take sufficient action,” the group stated.

Japan is a signatory to the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the rise in global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre‑industrial levels.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that Japan would need to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 69 percent from 2019 levels by 2040 to meet this goal.

However, the government’s climate action plan approved by the Cabinet in February sets a target of a 73 percent reduction by fiscal 2040 compared with the record-high emissions levels in fiscal 2013.

The plaintiffs argue that recalculating this target using 2019 as the baseline results in only a 67 percent reduction, falling short of the IPCC benchmark and violating Japan’s obligations under international climate frameworks.

They also contend that lawmakers have failed to establish legally binding emissions regulations and undermined citizens’ right to live peacefully.

GROWING GLOBAL TREND

The lawsuit is part of a growing global wave of legal battles for climate justice.

The trend gained momentum after a landmark 2019 ruling by the Dutch supreme court that ordered the government to strengthen its emissions targets.

Similar decisions followed in Germany in 2021 and at the European Court of Human Rights in 2024, which found Switzerland’s climate efforts insufficient.

In South Korea, a court ruled in 2024 that the absence of emissions‑reduction targets beyond 2030 was unconstitutional.

Underlying these cases is a rising international consensus that climate change constitutes a human rights issue.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2022 declaring “access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment” a universal human right. Japan supported this measure.

The Tokyo lawsuit is expected to focus on whether the government and the Diet can be held legally responsible for insufficient climate action.

It will also examine whether their policies amount to negligence or illegality to a degree warranting compensation.

(This article was written by Saori Kuroda and Miyuki Hokugo, a senior staff writer.)

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