Japan elected as nonpermanent member of UNSC for 2009-2010 term

NEW YORK, Oct. 17 Kyodo - The U.N. General Assembly on Friday elected Japan and four other countries as
nonpermanent members of the Security Council for two-year terms beginning in
January 2009.
Austria, Turkey, Uganda and Mexico were the other countries that received at
least the two-thirds majority vote of 128 required for election from the 192
members of the assembly. The five countries will fill an identical number of
UNSC seats which will be vacated at the end of December.
Japan defeated Iran 158 to 32, winning one seat allocated to Asian members of
the United Nations. Indonesia currently holds the seat.
''We believe that this is (the) manifestation of trust and confidence member
states have in Japan's role in the Security Council'' in peace and security,
development, the U.N. Millennium Development Goals, food crisis and climate
change, Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations Yukio Takasu told reporters.
Turkey and Austria won two seats earmarked for the ''Western Europe and
Others'' region, defeating Iceland by garnering 151 votes and 133 votes,
respectively. Existing nonpermanent members for the category are Italy and
Belgium.
Uganda was the sole candidate for the African seat, now held by South Africa,
and Mexico was the only candidate for the Latin American seat, now occupied by
Panama.
Japan defeated Iran overwhelmingly in view of the confrontation between Iran
and other U.N. members, especially the United States and European countries,
over its nuclear program.
Japan is also believed to have received support from other U.N. members in
light of the second largest financial contributor to the world body after the
United States.
Japan will sit on the Security Council for the 10th time, the most of any U.N.
member. Japan's previous council duty was in 2005-2006.
Japan sees Security Council membership as vital for it to intensify its bid for
permanent council membership as intergovernmental talks on the proposed
expansion of the U.N. membership structure are to begin soon.
''In the course of next year, I am convinced that the momentum of Security
Council reform after all so many years will be high,'' Takasu said.
''We hope that Japan's active participation as a nonperamanent member over the
next two years will be conducive to the reform that will include expansion of
permanent members and nonpermanent members,'' he said.
The United States welcomed the election of Japan and four other countries as
nonpermanent Security Council members.
''We look forward to working with all of these countries on the most pressing
issues facing the Council, including Iran's nuclear program, the situation in
Darfur, and other matters related to international peace and security,'' Robert
Wood, deputy spokesman for the State Department, said in a statement.
U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff pledged to support Japan's bid for
permanent membership in the council.
''Of course Japan is a country that we support for permanent membership and the
fact that it was elected by such a resounding number of votes also brings us
great satisfaction,'' said Wolff. ''We expect them to be an outstanding
contributor to the work of the council.''
The General Assembly elects five countries each year to fill an identical
number of vacated seats.
The Security Council consists of five permanent veto-wielding members and 10
nonpermanent members who serve two-year terms.
Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Libya and Vietnam are the other five
nonpermanent members who will finish out their two-year terms next year and be
replaced by five others in the election to be held in 2009.
Gaining permanent Security Council membership has long been a goal of Japan,
which has in the past lobbied for the status in partnership with Brazil,
Germany and India.
In Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said in a statement that
''Japan will play an active and constructive role at the Security Council which
is tasked with maintaining peace and security of the international community.''
''Japan will strive to realize Security Council reform and Japan's permanent
membership at an early time,'' Nakasone said.
While U.N. members generally agree that Security Council reform is necessary to
help the United Nations effectively cope with new challenges in the 21st
century, there are widely divergent views on how to reform it. Past
negotiations failed over the number of new seats and whether veto should be
granted to new permanent members.