| Just what the Security Council needs to be more effective: more members with differing agendas. |
Abe told reporters in Berlin after a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel that Tokyo was vetting new ideas to reform the Security Council after an initiative with key partners failed nearly two years ago.
‘Japan is considering a new proposal to succeed the G4 proposal,’ he said. ‘At the appropriate time, we’d like to propose it to win broader support.’ He did not provide further details.
In 2005, a joint attempt by the so-called G4 -- Brazil, Germany, India and Japan -- to obtain permanent seats on the council fell apart due to opposition from China, which has demanded that Japan make greater amends for the abuses it committed before and during World War II.
The 53-member African bloc at the UN also rebuffed an offer from the G4 to join them in a push to boost the Security CouncilÂ’s membership from 15 to 25, with six new permanent seats without veto power and four new non-permanent seats.
Merkel said Germany still had a keen interest in making the UN Security Council more representative and transparent. ‘We are interested in a fundamental reform of the UN Security Council, we have already worked hard to improve the representation of our countries on the council,’ she said.