310.2/4–2852: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Japan1
12. Re application Japan for UN admission: Dept believes US shld not approach Japan re its application at this time. However if [Page 808] FonOff approaches Emb you shld assure it we attach great importance Japan’s admission and will strongly support its application. If FonOff requests our views re timing its application Dept suggests you state that is question Japan itself shld decide, although you might also inform FonOff SC is expected take up question admission new members before next GA sched meet in fall and GA will certainly do so.
Emb will realize membership question has been one of most difficult problems for UN. Admission is effected by GA decision upon recommendation SC. However applications of a nr candidates have long been pending before SC. Non-Sov candidates have been vetoed by USSR while Sov candidates have never recd required majority. As price for agreement admit non-Sov candidates, USSR has demanded package deal involving simultaneous admission five Sov candidates. Thus far majority in SC, including US, have been unwilling pay this price. However at last GA Sov proposal recommending in effect SC act favorably on 14 applications, including nine non-Sov applicants (Austria, Ceylon, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Libya, Jordan, Nepal, and Portugal) and five Sov applicants (Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Outer Mongolia and Rumania) but excluding ROK and Vietnam, recd majority vote in GA over opposition US and was defeated only because it failed receive two-thirds majority.
Dept’s best estimate is USSR wld veto Japan’s application if considered separately. FYI only, however, USSR might suggest inclusion Japan in package deal with objective of embarrassing US–Jap relations.
Dept extremely concerned over deadlock on membership question and realizes Japan’s eligibility makes problem even more acute. We are considering possible solutions but have not reached any decision.
- Repeated to the United States Mission at the United Nations (USUN), New York, as telegram 405 (for information). Drafted by Paul W. Jones of the Office of UN Political and Security Affairs and concurred in by the Director of the Office (Wainhouse), cleared with the geographic bureaus, and signed by the Assistant Secretary for UN Affairs (Hickerson).↩