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Japan's Security Council dreams clouded with neighbors wary
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-08 18:55
KYOTO, Japan - Japan's cherished dream of becoming a permanent member of the
United Nations Security Council looks as murky as ever with poor relations with
China hanging over its bid.
Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura spearheaded Japan's latest lobbying drive
when he chaired a two-day session of the 38-nation Asia-Europe Meeting, trying
to rekindle momentum to implement historic UN reforms at the world body's
September summit.
But the meeting which closed Saturday saw only a few nations such as Finland
and Slovenia throwing their backing behind Japan to join the club of Britain,
China, France, Russia and the United States which wield veto power at the UN.
"In Asia, China has already been working hard as a member of the UN Security
Council," Machimura told the meeting of top diplomats in the ancient Japanese
capital of Kyoto.
"In order to raise Asia's presence as a whole, Japan is also ready to become
a permanent member of the UN Security Council," Machimura said. "We would like
to get your understanding."
The Security Council set-up dates back to World War II, making an expansion
with Japan a major step symbolizing its rehabilitation into a major power.
But China and South Korea, which suffered Japanese atrocities before and
during World War II, accuse Japan of not atoning for its crimes and voiced
opposition to their wartime enemy's hopes during the Kyoto meeting.
"The UN Security Council should be reformed based on the broadest possible
consensus," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said. "It is difficult for
China to support ideas of setting a deadline or forcing a particular proposal."
South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon agreed, saying: "UN reforms should
not lead to dissonance. UN reforms are supposed to make the UN effective."
Japan has launched a joint bid for Security Council seats with Brazil,
Germany and India but all have faced reluctance from their neighbors.
Machimura failed to win support of the full European Union amid Italy's
criticism of giving a seat to Germany, which would leave Rome as the main
European nation without a permanent Security Council seat.
"All the EU members are interested in the issue," Foreign Minister Jean
Asselborn of Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU presidency, told
Machimura.
"But at the same time, it's a difficult issue. It is very difficult for the
EU to have a consensus on UN Security Council reform," Asselborn said.
Japan has secured wide support in the developing world and is the only
expansion candidate explicitly backed by the United States, its close ally.
But Washington has rejected UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's proposal to set
a deadline of the September summit, meaning momentum for the long-discussed UN
reform could slip.
Experts forecast that Japan's chances of winning a Security Council seat were
now slim.
"It is nearly impossible for Japan to get the result by September," said
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, professor of international politics at Aoyama Gakuen
University in Tokyo.
"China and South Korea are holding the key to the success of Japan's bid,"
Yamamoto said. "Its fate especially depends on China. If China says it's okay,
Japan's permanent seat will be in sight."
But China has described its relations with Japan as being at a 30-year low
after Tokyo approved a history textbook that allegedly whitewashes its wartime
crimes.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last month used fellow candidate India as a base
to denounce Japan as unfit for a Security Council seat, weeks before Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made his own trip to New Delhi.
Koizumi in April offered a new apology for the suffering Japan caused in the
past when he addressed an Asia-Africa summit in Jakarta attended by both Annan
and Chinese President Hu Jintao.
Japan argues that it deserves a seat as it is the world's second largest
economy and a major donor, last year setting at 19.5 percent its share of
funding for the United Nations.
Only the United States contributes more at 22 percent, with permanent members
of the Security Council on average giving less than 10 percent each to the UN
budget.
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