TOKYO — Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, took Japan’s latest eco-friendly cars out for a spin on Friday to show off his environmental awareness ahead of next week’s G-8 summit meeting. Abe and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister, Akira Amari, took turns trying out six car models that emit zero or low-level carbon dioxide by using electric batteries, clean diesel, fuel cells, hydrogen gas or biofuels for power. ‘I am confident that Japan has the most superior technology in the world to protect the environment,” Abe told a group of executives from top Japanese automakers. Abe first tested an electric vehicle by Mitsubishi Motors Co. that can run about 130 kilometers (80 miles) after a one-time charge without emitting any carbon dioxide. ‘These are wonderful cars, quieter than gasoline cars, and adopting the latest technology,” Abe said after slowly driving the cars inside the courtyard of the Prime Minister’s Office. Abe recently announced a proposal to cut global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 as the basis of a new international framework to succeed the Kyoto agreement, which expires in 2012. Climate change and global warming are expected to run high on the agenda […]