Vice-Minister Aizawa sought the understanding of the participants saying, "In the 60 years since the founding of the UN, as the world situation has changed, so has the role of the UN. Reform of the UN is necessary to search for a UN role to match our times. For that reason, Japan would like to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council and establish its UN role through activities such as humanitarian relief and peace-keeping operations." He also touched on Japan's financial position: "With regard to financial contributions to the UN: Japan is paying nearly 20% of the total. Although we point out that it is not a financial problem, without financial support behind the scenes even peace-keeping operations could not be maintained." |
