Japan snubs White House over UN

Jeez, it's getting so you can't count on anyone to be a boat-licking toadie anymore. Japan has never made a secret of its ambitions to be on the Security Council (although I imagine right-wing Nakasone was a big part of that)-- but not at the cost of alienating powerful allies. And they can't even be bribed to cave in. What crust!

Japan has rebuffed a US proposal that could have allowed it to win permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council ahead of fellow members of the "Group of Four" - India, Brazil and Germany.

The US said on Thursday it was prepared to back Japan and one other member of the G4 for permanent membership and would also agree to "two or three" new non-permanent members.

But Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, responded yesterday: "We have to focus on our co-operation with Germany, Brazil and India [and] seek the understanding of the US on that point."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "We are aiming for reform of the UN, not just membership of the Security Council. The offer is a reflection of the US idea of reform."