File photo: CGTN

TOKYO, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan's greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal 2021 rose for the first time in eight years, reflecting a pickup in economic activities, recent government data showed.

According to the final figures released in April by Japan's Environment Ministry, national emissions in the fiscal year that ended in March 2022 totaled 1.17 billion tons in carbon dioxide equivalent, up 23 million tons, or 2.0 percent from the previous year.

In fiscal 2020, the figure hit a record low and dropped for the seventh straight year.

The ministry attributed the increase mainly to a pickup in energy consumption in the industrial and transport sectors, as economic activities were recovering even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When gases absorbed by forests are subtracted from the total emissions, the figure came to 1.12 billion tons, up 2.0 percent from fiscal 2020.

Although the figure represents a 20.3 percent drop from the fiscal 2013 level, which Japan uses as a base year, it is still far from its target of reducing the gases by 46 percent by fiscal 2030.