Japan, Germany, India, Brazil Seek Security Council Reform: Statement by ‘G4’ Foreign Ministers Calls for More Seats

By Kazusa Yoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

20:00 JST, September 22, 2023

NEW YORK — Foreign ministers of the G4 nations on Thursday agreed in a joint statement that they would “achieve concrete outcomes” on United Nations Security Council reform.

The G4 nations — Japan, Germany, India and Brazil — all support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the Security Council.

A meeting of the foreign ministers of the G4 nations, with newly-appointed Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa attending from Japan, was held in New York.

The Security Council, where permanent member Russia has used its veto power since its invasion of Ukraine, has become dysfunctional. The G4 statement expressed “the urgent need for its comprehensive reform, so that it better reflects contemporary geopolitical realities.”

The ministers then stressed that “the expansion of the U.N. Security Council in both permanent and nonpermanent categories of membership is essential” and committed to address the issue in the upcoming General Assembly “with an aim to achieve concrete outcomes within a fixed time frame.”

In light of the 80th anniversary of the U.N. in 2025, Kamikawa said that the G4 nations must make use of intergovernmental negotiations to take “concrete actions” toward the realization of the reform.

Kamikawa also met with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and exchanged views on U.N. reform among other issues.