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Japan has not given up its bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, but will not push for an early vote on its proposal along with Brazil, Germany and India to expand the council, a government official said on Monday.
A report by Sankei newspaper on Sunday had said Japan would soon hold talks with the three other countries to confirm that they are giving up their Group of Four bid, due to a lack of support in the UN General Assembly. But a government official denied that.
"Japan has not abandoned the bid, and will continue to cooperate with the G4 countries, as well as the African Union, to seek international understanding and support," a Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
The official said, however, that Japan would not push for an early UN vote because it needs to "engage in further information gathering and analysis to figure out a realistic strategy".
Japan will also call for UN reforms at the summit of world leaders scheduled in September, the official said.
The G4 proposal would expand the Security Council to 25 seats, adding six permanent seats without veto power. But the bid has so far failed to garner the 128 votes needed in the 191-member U.N. General Assembly for adoption.
Japan's top ally, the United States, has said it supports a council seat for Tokyo in principle, but has insisted that the United Nations needs to be substantially reformed before there is any serious discussion of expanding the council.