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Japan to give up its bid for UN seat

TOKYO: Japan will give up its bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the time being since it failed to win enough support from the international community, a Japanese newspaper reported on Sunday. However, a spokesman for the prime minister said he was unaware of any such decision.

Japan, Brazil, Germany and India, the so-called Group of Four, have proposed expanding the council to 25 seats, adding six permanent seats without veto power.

Can't find bedding you loveThe four countries hoped to get permanent seats, with the two remaining seats reserved for Africa. They had proposed the addition of four non-permanent seats, including one for Africa. But the Sankei Shim bun newspaper reported on Sunday that Japan will soon hold talks with the three other countries to confirm that they are giving up their Group of Four bid. The report did not cite sources.

Foreign Ministry officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Sunday.

Yu Kameoka, a spokesman for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said he had not heard of any decision regarding the UN vote.

The council currently has 10 members elected for two-year terms and five permanent members with veto power, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

While the G4 bid has garnered support from 90 countries, including France and Britain, it is still short of the 128 votes needed in the 191-member General Assembly for adoption, the daily said.