Japan Leaves Coalition on UN Council Expansion, Talks to U.S. 

Bill Varner
January 6, 2006
Bloomberg
Original Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000101&sid=aBk4B3ebWGwo&refer=japan

Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Japan has left an alliance formed with Brazil, India and Germany to seek permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council and begun talks with the U.S. on limited expansion of the panel, diplomats from the group said. 
Brazil, India and Germany yesterday introduced a resolution that would add 10 seats to the UN's principal policy-making panel, including six new permanent members. Japan, which formed an alliance with the three nations last May, doesn't support the move, Japanese spokesman Shinichi Iida said. 
``Japan tried to persuade them not to submit the resolution because our assessment of the situation differs,'' Iida said. ``We don't want to antagonize our relations with African nations that see this as a hostile move, and we are in the process of seeing whether we can translate the U.S. position into one that gains broad support.'' 
The Security Council, consisting of five permanent members with a veto, and 10 that are elected to two-year terms, hasn't been expanded in 40 years. Talks on expansion of the council, as part of a package of major proposals to improve the management and structure of the UN, stalled last year. 
U.S. Position 
The U.S. has proposed adding no more than two permanent seats, and no more than four additional elected members. The U.S. has backed Japan's bid for a permanent seat, without taking a position on the candidacies of Brazil, Germany or India. 
The group of 53 African nations has also introduced a resolution, calling for 11 new members, including six permanent members with veto power. Brazil, Germany, India and Japan haven't asked for vetoes. 
Japan and Germany, named as enemy states by the UN after their defeat in World War II, say they deserve permanent seats on the council because they are now the world's second- and third- biggest economies. India and Brazil say their size in their respective geographic regions qualifies them for membership. 
Iida said that while his government still supports the formula proposed by India, Brazil and Germany, Japan didn't feel the text would gain the two-thirds support of the UN's 191 member governments needed for adoption. The resolution would also need the backing of all five veto-bearing members of the Security Council: China, France, Russia, the U.S. and U.K. 
China Opposes Japan 
Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said he was aware of the split, supports none of the current proposals for Security Council expansion and believes all would fail to gain the two- thirds backing of the UN membership. 
``The members are highly divided,'' Wang said. 
China opposes Japan's candidacy for a permanent seat because, as Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a Dec. 1 news conference in Beijing, ``only countries that face up to history and take responsibility for their actions can play a greater role in international affairs.'' Japan hasn't sufficiently atoned for invading China in World War II, according to China's government. 
Brazilian envoy Marcelo Viegas said Brazil, Germany and India would await the outcome of an African summit on Jan. 22 before deciding whether to call for a vote on Security Council expansion. The African leaders are expected to make a decision on putting their text to a vote at that meeting, he said. 
Security Council expansion, while not a high priority for the U.S., is a vital component of proposed UN restructuring, German Deputy Ambassador Wolfgang Trautwein said. 
``It is not possible to talk about UN reform without Security Council reform,'' Trautwein said. ``If we had reformed the Security Council it would make all the other things easier.''