Japan's Call for Permanent U.N. Role May Open Reform Floodgates

Japan has renewed its call for permanent membership on the U.N. Security Council, citing Tokyo's financial contribution to the United Nations. Japan has the backing of the United States, another permanent member, and sees the confusion in the United Nations stirred by the war in Iraq as a prime opportunity to press for charter reform and the expansion of the Security Council. But while momentum might be building for U.N. reform, it is anything but an easy process.