World News

Japan supports UNSC reform

NEW YORK (Kyodo) - Japanese officials expressed support Nov. 30 for a U.N. panel's proposal to increase the number of permanent Security Council members to 11 from the current five, while repeating Tokyo's bid to become one of them.

Japanese lawmakers expressed discontent, however, that new permanent members will not be granted veto power under the proposal.

The advisory panel to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan released a report on U.N. reform earlier Nov. 30 outlining two options for expanding the Security Council.

The other proposal calls for establishing eight new seats, with member states serving out four-year terms that would be renewable without increasing the number of permanent members.

Neither option allows for any expanded veto powers. Under the current structure, the permanent five - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - can wield significant power with their veto rights.

Both options reflect the panel's intention to distribute U.N. seats more equally across the globe and to better represent the geopolitical realities of the current world.

Although the report did not identify any of the prospective permanent members or holders of renewable-term seats, Japan is believed to have a good chance of benefiting from the proposed reform.

In a September speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stressed Japan's development aid and other nonmilitary contributions in pushing for permanent membership on the powerful council.

Shukan ST: Dec. 10, 2004

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