101.   Japan also needs as many international friends as it can get in its campaign to reform the United Nations and attain a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

102.   Japan and Germany also seek permanent Security Council seats.

103.   Japan formally declared its bid for a Security Council permanent seat in September, when Foreign Minister Yohei Kono made an address at the U.N. General Assembly.

104.   Japan has linked its willingness to pay more to gaining a permanent seat.

105.   Japan has linked its willingness to pay more to the U.N. budget to a permanent seat.

106.   Japan has long sought a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

107.   Japan is seeking a permanent seat on the Security Council to reflect its economic might as talk of reforming the Council gains momentum.

108.   Japan is willing to shoulder a greater share of U.N. expenses if it gains a permanent seat on the Security Council, the Japanese foreign minister said Tuesday.

109.   Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder vowed Friday to push together for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.

110.   Japan has cited Germany as the ranks of other world powers deserving a permanent seat.