Can Japan shake up the UN Security Council? Ishiba to make last-ditch appeal
As the prime minister prepares to leave office, he says he will use his last appearance before the UN to reiterate Japan’s calls for reform
Ishiba left for New York on Tuesday morning, telling reporters just before his departure, “After reflecting on the 80 years since the founding of the United Nations, I would like to state that now is the time to carry out Security Council reform.”
He is scheduled to speak during the UN General Debate session on Wednesday morning, Tokyo time.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba steps down
“Japan has long harboured ambitions of reforming the Security Council and becoming a permanent member of an enlarged council, but I would say that aim is completely unrealistic at this point,” said Ben Ascione, an assistant professor of politics and international relations at Tokyo’s Waseda University.
“The present five permanent members do not want expansion because it is in their own interests to keep the council the way it is and to protect their power, but even if an agreement could be reached on expansion then I think there are a number of other countries – Germany, India and Brazil, among others – that have a better claim than Japan,” he told This Week in Asia.