Japan, aware that it is unlikely to win a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, will push to have its financial support of the United Nations reduced. Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura is scheduled to deliver a speech Sept. 19 before the U.N. General Assembly in New York, in which he will highlight the need to review contributions by U.N. members, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday. In 2005 Japan contributed 19.47 percent of the United Nations’ budget, second only to the United States, which contributed 22 percent, but more than the combined total of the other permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, France, China and Russia – which together contributed 15.31 percent. Japan’s government also believes Japan, in addition to its financial contributions, is now playing an increasingly bigger role in U.N. peacekeeping missions. A high-ranking Foreign Ministry official said, “Japan’s public will never be satisfied with a situation in which this country finds itself asked to pump in much cash but is left with a small say in the world body.” © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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