Japan's eyes still on UN
seat By Suvendrini Kakuchi
TOKYO - Half a century ago, Japan,
defeated by Western Allied forces at the end of
World War II 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 in
December, as Japan celebrated the 50th anniversary
of its
admission to the United
Nations, top policymakers and politicians were
reiterating a deep-rooted national desire to gain
a permanent place in the UN Security Council 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 United Nations University
in Tokyo, attended by the Japanese emperor and
empress as well as international diplomats and top
academics.
Analysts contend that the
resumption of the drive for Security Council
reform this year, which follows the disastrous
rejection in 2005, reflects several important
developments in Japanese diplomacy after 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 II," explained Professor Akihiko Tanaka, an
expert on UN diplomacy.
Indeed, Abe, along
with conservative policymakers, argue that
Japanese contributions to the UN are almost 20% of
the annual budget, second only to the United
States, which should make a permanent seat in the
Security Council along with the United Kingdom,
France, Russia and China, which pay lower fees,
totally natural.
In addition, wrote the
Yomiuri newspaper, Japan's largest daily, Japan
has also contributed in the way of calling for
arms reduction, improvement of the UN
Secretariat's functioning, and a fair calculation
of contribution of ratios for member fees.
"But," noted the newspaper pointedly,
"such sensible recommendations have never been
implemented. The Security Council's special
privilege, the UN'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 Security Council aspirations, a hurdle the
government has called as difficult as "getting a
camel through the eye of a needle".
Japan
forged an alliance with aspirants India, Brazil
and Germany in 2005 to gain a permanent position
in the Security Council, but was unsuccessful. Yet
other experts do not agree with the stance that
Japan is not influential in the UN.
Professor Ichiro Kawabe, a UN 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 UN, such
as in last July when the Security Council adopted
a resolution under the direction of Tokyo
protesting North Korea's missile launches.
"Moreover, Japan has won the position in
the Security Council on a revolving basis nine
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 to achieve its Security Council aspirations
is the complexity of developing a multilateral
diplomacy that demands dealing with issues such as
human rights and racism along with the
organization'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 US-Japan Security Pact that has
only gotten stronger these past few years.
Under Koizumi and Abe, this pro-US foreign
policy has gained a stronger standing, with
beefed-up new agreements such as a joint
missile-defense plan last July.
"While
Japan remains a trusted UN member and a leader in
development issues, there is still the notion of
the country bowing to US interests rather than
having its own world vision," said Professor
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 Security Council by Abe to foster narrow
domestic interests.
"Under the new thrust
of promoting human security in the world, the UN
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.
