U.S. BACKS JAPANESE, GERMAN U.N. SLOTS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 30, 1993                   TAG: 9301300123
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: UNITED NATIONS                                LENGTH: Short
U.S. BACKS JAPANESE, GERMAN U.N. SLOTS
The Clinton administration has indicated it favors allowing Germany and Japan to have permanent seats in the U.N. Security Council.
The council has 15 members, but only five - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France - have permanent seats, which allows them to block any action with a veto.
In recent years, Germany, the strongest economic power in Europe, has said it felt entitled to a seat, as has Japan. So have Third World countries, arguing that the non-industrialized world should also have a permanent voice. Until now, Washington has gone along with keeping the issue off the agenda, arguing that once the council seating was up for change, it might open up a Pandora's box of requests.
The sign that the Clinton administration would support change came from Secretary of State Warren Christopher in Washington. In a question-and-answer session with State Department employees, he said that "during the campaign, President Clinton said that he could envisage the addition of Germany and Japan to the permanent members."
The secretary of state also acknowledged "the complexity of that decision," saying, "I'm sure we've all been in organizations where when you begin to make changes, there are other people who feel that they are entitled to a seat at the table."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB