In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, Japan has been forced to review its diplomatic strategy for gaining a long-coveted permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
The first obvious result of this review has been Japan's decision to back down from an initial plan to seek a two-year nonpermanent membership of the powerful council in an election this autumn. Tokyo has considered temporary membership to be an important steppingstone toward a permanent role.
Of the 15 council seats, five are held by permanent members with veto power — the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China. The remaining 10 seats are held by nonpermanent members and are allotted regionally — three to Africa, two each to Asia, Latin America and Western Europe, and one to Eastern Europe.