National › Lights go off in Tokyo, Hokkaido, elsewhere for G-8 summit

Tuesday 08th July, 06:45 AM JST TOKYO — Lights were temporarily switched off Monday night in about 76,000 structures in Japan, ranging from Tokyo Tower in the capital to the illuminated signs on buildings in the Susukino entertainment district of Sapporo, Hokkaido. The government has designated July 7 as ‘‘Cool Earth Day’’ to coincide with the first day of the three-day Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido. The Environment Ministry estimates that turning out the lights between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. in the 76,000 buildings will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 475 tons. That is equivalent to the amount of CO2 emitted by about 32,800 households in a day, according to the ministry. The Japanese government plans to call for lights to be turned off on July 7... [read full story]