Wishes and Reality

Author: (English) Drefort, translated by Gao Zengjie et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-09-01
Features: The purpose of this book is to comprehensively examine for the first time the historical and international context, motivations, decision-making process, and policy implementation that led to the Japanese government's stance and actions in declaring its intention to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Chapter 1 of the book summarizes the period when Japan sought to become a permanent member of the Security Council, from the 1960s to the 1980s. Due to the Cold War, the timing was not ripe, and Japan's efforts to advance this goal failed, though it made its first appearance in the issue of Security Council reform. As a result, this matter could only wait for better timing to be reconsidered, with only the activities of a few politicians and officials being particularly noteworthy. Chapter 2 analyzes Japan's record in multilateral diplomacy, the debates over participating in UN peacekeeping operations, and the changes in domestic discussions, examining whether Japan was qualified to become a permanent member of the Security Council. Chapter 3 analyzes the process that complicated the discussions on UN reform. Chapter 4 summarizes the various attempts at Security Council reform so far and provides a detailed analysis of Japan's stance in the UN Security Council Reform Working Group. To provide a comparative research perspective, this chapter will analyze the stances of Japan and Germany in the Working Group.