November 1, 2001
Yukio Sato, Japan's ambassador to the United Nations, asked the international body Tuesday to speed up reform of the U.N. Security Council to strengthen cooperative efforts to eradicate terrorism.
Sato told representatives of the U.N. General Assembly that discussions on reform started in 1993 "have not yet shown any sign of progress" but are necessary "to focus on an even wider range of areas," citing the recent Security Council resolution denouncing terrorism.
Sato suggested that the 15 member countries of the Security Council focus discussions on expanding the size of the council's membership, a measure that Japan had proposed earlier. The proposal involves expanding the current five permanent members of the council to 10 and increasing the seats for nonpermanent members from 10 to 14. Other countries, including the United States, have not expressed clear support for the idea.
The Security Council adopted on Sept. 29 its resolution condemning the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The resolution requires member countries, among others, to eliminate funding for terrorist activities.
With Japan's accumulated expertise on international financing and high technology, Sato's remarks are seen as an expression of Japan's willingness to contribute to efforts to eradicate terrorism if it is allowed to become a permanent member of the council.
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