New greenhouse gas emissions targets set earlier this week by incoming Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama were not well-received by major players in the Japanese auto industry.

Mr. Hatoyama and the Democratic Party of Japan will take the helm of the Japanese government next week after beating the Liberal Democratic Party and their impressive record of 50 years of virtually unbroken rule. During the campaign, Hatoyama campaigned on cutting carbon emissions by 25% from 1990 levels, and now Hatoyama is reiterating that promise.

The targets laid out by Hatoyama and the DPJ are much more aggressive than the previous administration's goal of cutting emissions by 8% in the same time period, and this has the Japanese auto industry a little nervous.

Executives from the major Japanese manufacturing industry say they are already at a disadvantage by having installed some of the cleanest and most efficient factories in the industrialized world.

"It goes without saying such a target would be difficult to reach," said Honda Motors Co. President Takanobu Ito. Ito told a news conference in the capital that Honda's current longer-range business plans could only do a little to help hit the new target.

Toyota expressed similar concerns. “The target is beyond the reach of our conventional business plans," said new Toyota president, Akio Toyoda.

"I think it will be extremely hard for us to find ways to attain it."