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Japan to consult U.S. on U.N. Council seat

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Japan has indicated its intention to consult the U.S. on the best means to secure permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.

Last year, Japan had joined India, Germany, and Brazil, under the rubric of

Group of Four (G-4), to press for this status for each of them as part of Security Council reforms. The G-4's move did not gain necessary support during consultations among the U.N. members.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told journalists in Tokyo on Friday that his country was now evolving, in association with the U.S., a draft resolution on Security Council expansion.

He said Japan had, therefore, not joined the other members of the G-4 when they "resubmitted" the group's collective draft at the U.N. headquarters on Thursday.

He said Japan understood the strategy of the other three to "resubmit" the old draft to keep the issue in focus and gain primacy for it over a possible counter-draft from the African Union.

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