Reform of the United Nations and the US-Japan cooperation

Q.: What is Japan's position on the reform of the Security Council and how does Japan intend to cooperate with the US in this regard ?

1. The U.N. Security Council should reflect a new reality in the world.

Japan holds that the reform of the Security Council should address the following changes in the international situation.

The emergence of new global powers in addition to the current five permanent members of the Security Council;
In spite of the increace of United Nations membership from 51 to 185 since its foundation, seats in the Security Council have only increased from 11 to 15. This has resulted in underrepresentation of countories in such regions as Asia, Africa and Latin America at the Security Council.

2. Japan's position on the reform of the Security Council

Japan believes that the following steps should be taken for the reform of the Security Council. These steps would enhance its legitimacy and effectiveness, as well as ensure the balance between the representative character of the Security Council and its efficiency;

a limited number of permanent seats should be added in addition to the current permanent members to reflect the emergence of new global powers. Japan supports the suggestions that the number of seats on the reformed Security Council should be in kept the low 20s;
the number of non-permanent seats should be increased appropriately in order to improve the representativeness of the Security Council;
special consideration should be given to those regions that are now under-represented, namely Asia, Africa and Latin America in increasing the number of non-permanent seats; and
measures should be considered and implemented to further the improvement of working methods and procedures of the Security Council including the enhancement of the transparency of its work.

With respect to the increase of the permanent membership of the Security Council, Japan is giving due consideration to the view that developing countries which have both the capability and the willingness to assume global responsibilities for world peace and stability should be included as permanent menbers of Security Council.

3. Former-Foreign Minister Yohei Kono's remarks

On 26 September 1995, then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yohei Kono stated as follows at the 50th session of the General Assembly,

"The reform of the Security Council is of the utmost importance in strengthening the UN in the political field; the primary objective of Security Council reform is to strengthen its function by enhancing its legitimacy and effectiveness. Toward this end, Japan believes it is necessary to expand the Security Council by adding countries in a position to assume global responsibilities to the permanent membership and also to increase by an appropriate number the non-permanent membership. As I stated here last year, Japan, with the endorsement of many countries, is prepared to discharge its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council in accordance with its basic philosoophy regarding international countributions, including the non-resort to the use of force prohibited by its Constitution. On this point, Ishould like to take this opportunity to once again express my apprecation to the many countries that have indicated their support for Japan's permanent membership on the Security Council.

Building on the results of the discussions conducted in the Working Group over the past two years, particularly on the substantive progress made during the last session of the Working Group over the past two years, particularly on the substantive progress made during the last session of the General Assembly, and also taking advantage of the momentum provided by the 50th anniversary of the UN, Iwould urge all Member States to redouble their efforts to reach an agreement on a broad framework for reform by the end of the current session in September 1996."

4. Cooperation with the United States

Japan intends to cooperate closely with other countries, including inter alia the United States, in its efforts to make concrete progress in the discussions currently held in the U.N. General Assembly "Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council."

Japan continues to work together with US side to bring the reform process forward with a view to reaching an agreement on a broad framework for reform by the end of the current session of the General Assembly in September 1996.

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