Japan was inclined in the 1960s to support China's bid to join the United Nations if Taiwan could retain its membership, despite Japan's formal opposition to China becoming a member, according to Japanese diplomatic files declassified Sunday.
Since 1976, the Foreign Ministry has been declassifying 30-year-old files each year, except for ones it thinks will affect state security, diplomatic negotiations or privacy.
In July 1961, Foreign Minister Zentaro Kosaka told Nobusuke Kishi, prime minister from 1957 to July 1960, that a majority of U.N. members would probably support a proposal that both China and Taiwan should be given U.N. seats, one of the files says.