Japan says 'no' to US offer on UN reform

Japan said though US' proposal had put Tokyo in a difficult situation, it would not go against the G-4 members.

Japan said on Friday it could not support a US proposal on UN Security Council reform, as it conflicted with the draft resolution presented jointly by Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, reports Xinhua.

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"Japan cannot go along with this plan," said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

"We must think of cooperation in the Group of Four as important and stay united," he said.

India, Brazil, Germany and Japan, collectively known as G-4, have presented their own draft resolution and plan to introduce it in the UN General Assembly soon.

The resolution calls for the council to be expanded by six permanent members - the G-4 plus two from Africa - as well as increasing the number of non-permanent rotating members from the current 10 to 14.

Koizumi said the fact that the US, Japan's closest ally, had made such a proposal had put Tokyo in a "difficult" situation. But Koizumi said he would do his "utmost" to persuade the US to at least understand Japan's position.

"This seems good to Japan but it's not to the other G-4 members," Koizumi said, adding it would not be a good idea for Japan just to think of its own interests.

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said at a separate press conference that the G-4 nations planned to get together later this month to compare notes and try to decide how to deal with the US proposal.

"We don't see the issue as a simple matter of choosing one out of two," Machimura said.

He indicated that the US proposal put Japan in a dilemma of choosing between the US and its G-4 partners. "But we should take it as a constructive proposal," he said.

Machimura said he had told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that it was difficult to immediately break the G-4's framework, as the four countries are lobbying with other UN member states to back their reform plan.