TOKYO, Feb 15 (AFP) - Japan Friday welcomed President George W. Bush's alternative to the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gases, but said it will press on with ratification of the pact the US rejected. 
	
	
 "The government of Japan appreciates the announcement of climate change policy by the government of the United States on February 14 as a demonstration of its serious intention to address the issue of global warming," Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said in a statement. 
	
	
 The minister however said Japan will press on with ratification of the 1997 Kyoto pact on global warming, which environment ministers from 160 countries -- with the exception of the United States -- agreed on in Morocco last November after marathon talks. 
	
	
 "While the government of Japan intends to take all necessary steps to ensure the approval by the Diet of the Kyoto Protocol as well as the enactment of the required legislation during the current Diet session... it is important to establish a common rule in future in which all countries including the United States and developing countries participate," the statement said. 
	
	
 Bush may raise the greenhouse gas matter when he visits Japan for a three-day stay starting Sunday, although Japan's weakened economy is expected to be the focus of talks. 
	
	
 Bush's plan, which he revealed in a speech Thursday night, would slow emissions growth by reducing "greenhouse gas intensity" -- the ratio of emissions to economic output -- by a target of 18 percent over 10 years. 
	
	
 The Kyoto pact, which Bush Thursday called "an unsound international treaty", commits countries to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases to below 1990 levels by a timetable of 2008-2012.