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JAPAN: Determined on Seat in UN Security Council

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Dec 22 2006 (IPS) - Half a century ago Japan, defeated by Western allied forces at the end of World War ll in 1945, was admitted to the United Nations, marking an end to its violent past and beginning anew in world politics with a clean slate.

Since then, Japan has not disappointed the world. The country now boasts a record of working hard to rise from the ashes of war to become the world’s second largest economy and international aid donor.

But this week, as Japan celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its admission to the U.N., top policy makers and politicians are reiterating a deep-rooted national desire to gain a permanent place in the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) with the coveted veto power.

‘’Japan, for its part, is determined to take up its full responsibilities through gaining membership in the Security Council,” said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a solemn ceremony at the U.N. University on Monday, attended by the Japanese Emperor and Empress as well as international diplomats and top academics.

Analysts contend that the resumption of the drive for UNSC reform in 2007 that follows the disastrous rejection in 2005, reflects several important developments in Japanese diplomacy following the election of former leader Junichiro Koizumi and Abe, both conservatives.

“Abe and Koizumi represent a generation of postwar politicians in Japan who want an active role in global politics. They believe this position is long overdue for Japan that is now rich and confident and totally different to country that was defeated in World War ll,” explained Prof. Akihiko Tanaka, an expert on U.N. diplomacy.

Indeed, Abe along with conservative policy makers argue that Japanese contributions to the U.N. are almost 20 percent of the annual budget, second only to the United States, which should make a permanent seat in the UNSC along with Britain, France, Russia and China which pay lower fees, totally natural.

In addition, writes the ‘Yomiuri’ newspaper, Japan’s largest daily on Monday, Japan has also contributed in the way of calling for arms reduction, improvement of the U.N. Secretariat functioning, and a fair calculation of contribution of ratios.

‘’But,” noted the newspaper pointedly, ‘’such sensible recommendations have never been implemented. The Security Council’s special privilege, the U.N.’s unique structure and the difficulty of multinational diplomacy are behind Japan’s inability to get its voice heard.”

The statement also refers to Japan’s failed UNSC aspirations, a hurdle the government has described as difficult as ‘’getting a camel through the eye of a needle.”

Japan forged an alliance with aspirants India, Brazil and Germany last year to gain a permanent position in the UNSC, but was unsuccessful.

Yet, other experts do not agree with the stance that Japan is not influential in the U.N.

Prof. Ichiro Kawabe, a U.N. expert at Aichi University, based in Nagoya, points out that Japan’s economic clout has certainly allowed the country to yield strong influence in the U.N. such as in July when the UNSC adopted a resolution protesting North Korea’s missile launches under the direction of Tokyo.

“‘Moreover Japan has won the position in UNSC on a revolving basis 9 times in the past allowing its participation and vote in several crucial debates,” Kawabe said. He added that such chances were never seized by Japanese diplomats to spotlight a unique global vision.

One reason for the inability of Japan in achieving its UNSC aspirations is the complexity of developing a multilateral diplomacy that demands dealing with issues such as human rights and racism along with the organisation’s 109 members.

Those intricacies are not easy for Japan, the experts say, explaining that Tokyo has been content to develop its postwar foreign relations under the umbrella of the U.S.-Japan Security Pact that has only got stronger these few years..

Under Koizumi and Abe, this pro-U.S. foreign policy has gained a stronger standing with beefed up new agreements like a new join missile defence plan in July between the two countries.

“While Japan remains a trusted U.N. member and a leader in development issues, there is still the notion of the country bowing to U.S. interests rather than having its own world vision,” said Prof. Monzurul Huq, a Bangladeshi national teaching international relations at Yokohama University.

Yet another trend of thought among some academics is the use of a permanent position in the UNSC by Abe to foster narrow domestic interests.

‘’Under the new thrust of promoting human security in the world, the U.N. peacekeeping forces for example, and with its image of building peace in conflict zones, Abe is promoting the changing of Japan’s peace Constitution to have a military,” said Kawabe.