A plasma display panel driving method in which a reset step and an address step are sequentially executed in the first subfield and second subfield of each field. A microemission step is executed in the first subfield for generating a microemission discharge between ones of the row electrodes and the column electrodes in display cells in the ON mode by applying a voltage for using the ones of the row electrodes as the anode and the column electrodes as the cathode, between the electrodes immediately after the address step. Moreover, in the microemission step, a potential lower than the voltage generated when applying a sustain pulse is respectively applied to the ones and the others of the row electrodes while applying a voltage as described above between the ones of the row electrodes and the column electrodes.