UN General Assembly
1998

assessment will be over 20 per cent, exceeding the sum of that of four permanent members of the Security Council, not including the United States. In this situation, reform in the financial area requires serious attention. In reforming the United Nations to strengthen its functioning, we must promote reforms in three interrelated areas in a balanced manner: reform in the political area, the development area, and the financial area, which supports political and development activities. It is regrettable that even though the chances of materializing reforms increased during last yearâs General Assembly session, discussions on the reform of the Security Council have not developed since then. Under the circumstances facing the international community I mentioned earlier, reforming the Security Council to reinforce its legitimacy and effectiveness is an urgent task. Japan, with the endorsement of many countries, is prepared to assume greater responsibilities as a permanent member of the Security Council. This would be in accordance with our basic philosophy of non-resort to the use of force prohibited by our Constitution. We are now in the fifth year