Hey, come on boys and girls. The government is planning to recruit a student diplomat corps to be dispatched to U.N. headquarters in New York.

The Foreign Ministry will invite some 60 Japanese high school students on an unprecedented tour of U.N. headquarters during the summer holiday period.

According to the ministry's U.N. policy division, the unique tour program aims to help Japanese high school pupils understand current U.N. functions and the role the world body is expected to play in the 21st century.

The ministry also hopes more students will gain an understanding of the important role Japan has played -- and is expected to play -- in international society through the United Nations, division officials said.

Japan, the second-largest contributor to the U.N. budget after the United States, is also campaigning for a permanent seat on the powerful U.N. Security Council. Permanent seats are currently held by the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France.

The ministry will begin recruiting participants for the program in April through prefectural governments, the officials said.

Any junior and senior high schools students are eligible. It is envisioned that at least one person will be selected from each prefecture after screening of applicants through a Japanese-language composition contest, the officials said.

The theme of the compositions can be "The future world we want to see" or "International society and the U.N."

After passing the screening process, some 60 students will meet in Tokyo for the inaugural ceremony of the program, which will be hosted by the foreign minister. They will visit U.N. headquarters for about one week in July or August, the officials said.

During their tour, the students will meet U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Yukio Sato, Japanese ambassador to the U.N. They will also be briefed by U.N. officials on the world body's functions. They will hold a mock U.N. meeting and will be interviewed by Japanese media, the officials said.

The Foreign Ministry has earmarked 25 million yen for the program in the government's budget plan for fiscal 2001, which remains pending in the Diet. The ministry plans to continue the program in fiscal 2002 and beyond.