BELEM, Brazil — Protesters in Pokemon costumes stomped around the United Nations climate conference on Friday to send a message to Japan: End financing of coal and natural gas projects across Southeast Asia and other regions of the Global South.

The Stop Japan’s Dirty Energy Plans protest aligned with the first of two themed days with a focus on energy during the annual climate conference known as COP30, held this year in Belem on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon. Organizers of the protest said the investments are a major blind spot for Japan, which often touts itself as a decarbonization leader in Asia.

“Japan is actually delaying the fossil fuel phase-out across Asia” by funding energy projects, mainly liquefied natural gas developments, in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indon

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