In the runup to a key international arms-control conference in New York in July, Japan has already missed one of its primary targets -- securing the post of chairman for its senior arms-control expert.
The ministerial conference, sponsored by the United Nations, will run for 12 days starting July 9 to discuss controlling the illegal trade in small arms as a means of preventing regional conflicts.
About 500,000 people are said to have been killed by small arms annually since the end of the Cold War, compared with 20,000 people killed by antipersonnel land mines annually.