It is no surprise that the United States, according to John Bolton (Sept. 21 Kyodo article "U.S. has 'abandoned' U.N. reform: Bolton"), has put off its recommendation that Japan occupy a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council. From the very beginning, it was a nonstarter, as any such proposal would be automatically vetoed by China — for reasons we all know.
Although Japan is one of the leading countries to provide economic and humanitarian assistance to many developing countries, the Japanese must face reality: Money will never buy a permanent UNSC seat, and a country showing such disunity and instability in its body politic, even after three disasters, as well as little hope so far for a successful reconstruction and a rise from the ashes cannot be seen in the same light as the five permanent UNSC members, which, despite their faults, domestically and internationally, show stability on which the UNSC relies.
Several friends in the United States tell me that, despite the close U.S.-Japan friendship and military alliance, the United States views Japan with a mixture of sorrow, sympathy and kindness, but not with the sense that Japan is particularly trustworthy or reliable.
It is the lack of proposed political, physical and social solutions to the current crises that prompts the current U.S. administration to cast a very wary eye on its East Asian friend.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.