un_reform

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Japan can seek to become permanent UNSC member with condition: Shii

On a TV Tokyo program aired on June 25, Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo stated that the JCP supports Japan to become a permanent United Nations Security Council member under certain conditions.

Shii said, "We can support Japan's quest for a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council if its candidacy is intended to increase Japan's role in the United Nations with the aim of contributing to "achieving a 'world without war' based on the U.N. Charter."

The first thing Japan must do is to become a nation trusted by the rest of the world, in particular by other Asian countries, Shii said.

Pointing out that the U.N. Charter was written based on a reflection on the war of aggression waged by Japan, Germany, and Italy, he stated that Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro must stop his Yasukuni Shrine visits and any other actions that run counter to the aim of the U.N. Charter.

Shii also stressed the need for Japan to become independent in its diplomacy vis-a-vis the United States. Criticizing the Japanese government for dispatching the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq in support of the U.S. war on Iraq in a way that disregarded the U.N. Charter, he stressed that Japan must change its policy.

Shii took up the Constitution's Article 9 in relation to Japan's role in the United Nations. Quoting from the U.N. Charter that "The Military Staff Committee shall consist of the Chiefs of Staff of the permanent members of the Security Council or their representatives" and that the "Committee shall be responsible under the Security Council for the strategic direction of any armed forces," Shii pointed out that these definitions conflict with Japan's Article 9.

Referring to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's proposal for a review of the Military Staff Committee as part of U.N. reform, Shii stated:

"If the UN Charter is revised toward abolishing the requirement that permanent Security Council members must fulfill their military obligations, Japan's election as a permanent Security Council member will be compatible with Article 9. This will make it possible for the JCP, which calls for the defense of the war-renouncing Article 9, to support Japan as a permanent Security Council member. - Akahata, June 24, 2005