Japan said yesterday it will continue to support wider expansion of the UN Security Council after the US threw its weight only behind Tokyo for an enlargement limited to two countries.
"America made a proposal but Japan cannot go along with it," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, one of US President George W. Bush's closest international allies, told reporters.
He said Japan was determined not to break up a joint bid with Brazil, Germany and India, dubbed the Group of Four or G4, which are seeking permanent seats on the powerful UN organ.
"We cannot say `that's right' and jump on to the US proposal as we have been in the G4 campaign," said Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, adding he told US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice by telephone that Japan appreciated the US consideration.
"I think they threw a difficult curve ball that at first glance looks favorable yet also problematic," Machimura told a meeting with lawmakers.
The US said Thursday that the G4 proposal, which would enlarge the Security Council from 15 to 25 members, was unwieldy and opposed giving veto power to newcomers.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Washington "will likely support adding two or so permanent members" and "two or three" additional non-permanent seats.
He only named Japan as a country with US backing for a permanent seat, saying Washington would next week propose specific criteria for candidate countries.
Japan has made winning a seat on the UN Security Council -- whose set-up giving veto power to Britain, China, France, Russia and the US reflects the power balance in 1945 -- a key goal of its foreign policy.
But China has vowed to block Japan, saying it must do more to atone for its atrocities during its invasions of Asia in the first half of the 20th century.
Despite the show of solidarity with the other G4 candidates, some questioned whether Japan would give up the chance to fulfill its Security Council dream through US support.
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