EFL
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has made his pitch for Japan to become a permanent member of the Security Council, teaming up with other aspirants Germany, India and Brazil to press for an expansion of the U.N.'s top body. "We believe that the role that Japan has played provides a solid basis for its assumption of permanent membership on the Security Council," Koizumi said in an address to the annual General Assembly session in New York City Tuesday.
Japan has been pressing for a permanent seat since 1993, but Koizumi has made it a key policy goal. Next year marks the U.N.'s 60th anniversary, and officials in Tokyo are hoping the momentum for reform may benefit Japan's bid for membership. Second only to the U.S., Japan provides 19.5 percent of the U.N.'s budget, contributing almost 20 times more than permanent members China and Russia. It also argues that as the only country to have sustained a nuclear attack, it would bring a unique perspective to a body all of whose current permanent members are nuclear powers. Of those permanent members, the U.S., Britain and France reportedly have voiced support for Japan's bid, while China opposes it. Russia's stance remains unclear. |