In 2026, the world has been grappling with severe climate disasters?exacerbated?by emerging super El Nino, from heat waves to?wildfires, droughts, glacier?melting?and floods. Japan is no exception.?Severe flooding and landslides, an exceptional summer heatwave, and an unusually active typhoon season have generated?evacuation, casualties, and severe damage to infrastructures.??
According to the??published in September 2026, exceeding 1.5°C is now widely assessed as unavoidable under current policies and near-term trajectories, and the world should?make every effort to?make?the overshoot as small and as short as possible and then return temperatures to below 1.5°C.??
For their part, Japan’s media outlets have been rallying behind the “?supported by?the UN Information Centre in Tokyo?(UNIC Tokyo), calling for behavioral changes by individuals and organizations to stave off the climate catastrophe.?
Born out of a commitment by member organizations of the?SDG Media Compact?– a global network of media companies that signed on to an agreement with the United Nations to promote the SDGs.?The “Promise of 1.5℃”?campaign?pushing?for climate action and behavioral change?is the world’s first country-level campaign of its kind?for the SDG Media Compact.?
Marking the campaign’s five-year milestone in 2026, the Promise of 1.5℃?campaign has?been?promoting?a special project to?demonstrate?that we are in the fight?against?climate change together.?Running from 25 June?2026?through end 2027,?the project “I am one of the 89% who want to stop global warming”?is amplifying messages from public figures and people across Japanese society through social media,?websites,?and events. The initiative builds on global survey findings showing that 89%?of people want their governments to take more ambitious climate measures, but many mistakenly believe they are in the minority, which?discourages being vocal and demanding more aggressive climate actions. The project aims to visualize the vast majority in the society?do?care about climate, turning the silent majority into a solid voice in the society.??
FISH BOY – Sakana-kun (ichthyologist and artist) is one of the message contributors; Credit: UNIC Tokyo
More than 30 contributors have already joined?, including UN Messenger of Peace MIDORI, WFP Goodwill Ambassador Anne Watanabe, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Naomi Kawase, KEIDANREN?Chairman?Yoshinobu Tsutsui,?global boy group JO1, various J.?LEAGUE?Climate Action Ambassadors?as well as?chefs?and children.?
Climate Action Ambassador and footballer Hiroki Yamada’s message about climate action is broadcast ahead of a J.LEAGUE match; Credit: ?Júbilo Iwata
As another significant achievement marking the five-year milestone of the campaign, an updated version of the 2050 Weather Forecast produced by?Japan’s national broadcaster,?NHK,?for the?global campaign run by the UN’s??campaign?in 2014?was?released in August?2026.??
Featuring the same weather forecaster and climate scientist,??reflects both accelerating global warming and the latest scientific analysis.?Several scenarios?for 2050?presented in the 2014 forecast have already become reality years earlier than?anticipated. Among them are prolonged periods of temperatures exceeding 35°C, once presented as a potential future outcome for mid-century Japan.??
The updated forecast imagines conditions in 2050 under current climate policies.?The shocking projections headlined in many media outlets include?from?“extreme heat days” at 40℃?and above?to be?recorded in as many as 157 locations across the country, to?restriction?orders?on outdoor activities?to prevent?children from playing outside and construction workers from carrying out work in open-air conditions,?mounting pressures on food production?suggesting?that a popular Japanese pork cutlet rice dish could become a luxury item, and?increasingly destructive “super typhoons” bringing severe damage across the country.??
2050 Weather Forecast” Production Committee
At the same time, the forecast points to solutions, including a faster transition to renewable energy and wider adoption of electric vehicles as part of the shift towards a decarbonized society.?The initiative has been supported by?UNIC Tokyo,?and the?forecast?video has been made freely available for public?purposes?and educational?use.?
Every September since 2022, six key broadcasting?stations –?NHK, Nippon TV, TV Asahi, TBS, TV?Tokyo?and Fuji TV –?have been producing a special TV show featuring the “Promise of 1.5℃.”?罢丑别??has?featured the “2050 Weather Forecast Version 2”?in the?programme, with anchors representing six broadcasters reporting about?frontlines facing climate crisis, such as?what a torrential downpour of?300 mm?per hour would look like, how construction workers defend themselves from heatstroke, and how climate change is changing ranches and rice paddies.?
Six anchors representing six broadcasting stations joined forces to promote climate action; Credit: NHK
“With extreme weather events hitting Japan so frequently in 2026, we have seen more media partners proactively engaged in climate agenda,” says Kaoru Nemoto, Director of UNIC Tokyo. “We hope by illustrating solutions and local climate champions, media organizations can show that we can make a difference if we are committed to and act together.”?