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Japan to slash contribution to UN by a quarter
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-10-03 13:59

With its prospects for obtaining a permanent seat on the Security Council fading, Japan will seek to reduce its contribution to the United Nations by up to a quarter, a report said.

Japan Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura addresses the United Nations General Assembly. With its prospects for obtaining a permanent seat on the Security Council fading, Japan will seek to reduce its contribution to the UN by up to a quarter[AFP/file]

Japan will propose an up to five percentage point cut in its contribution, currently 19.5 percent of the UN budget, when negotiations for countries' portions of 2007-2009 funding start next March, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

Japan, whose contribution in dollar terms is second only to the United States, wants to show it will refuse to shoulder the financial burden without a say on the powerful council, the economic daily said, without citing sources.

A bid by Japan and its partners in the so-called G4 group -- Brazil, Germany and India -- to secure permanent council membership has stalled in the face of opposition from the United States and China and insufficient support from the 53-member African bloc.

Japan has repeatedly threatened to slash its contribution to the UN.

A foreign ministry official confirmed Japan is seeking to reduce its contribution but said "we are looking at what figure we should aim at."

"We have not decided on such a single figure as five percentage points," he said.

The Sankei Shimbun reported last week that Japan planned to ask China and Russia, which have veto power on the Security Council, to hike their contributions while cutting its own.

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, in an interview published last week with The Times of London, said Japan's share of the UN budget was "disproportionately big."

"It shows our commitment and will to contribute to world peace, but it is true that many Japanese people and members of the Japanese Diet (parliament) feel frustrated about this fact," Machimura said.

He also criticized the contribution by the United States, Japan's closest ally.

The financial "contribution to the United Nations basically should be in proportion to GDP -- based on that the US should be bearing about 30 percent," Machimura said. The US share is currently at 22 percent.

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