In the post-war period, Japan has certainly not been a stranger to multilateral diplomacy, even though its contributions to the United Nations have largely been limited to giving generous financial aid and less on major policy-making contributions. But one major policy proposal it has been pushing and pursuing throughout has been the goal of UN Security Council reform: more precisely, the goal of securing a Permanent Seat on the Security Council for itself.

In pursuit of this goal, Japan has mounted many different campaigns. This essay examines the most recent campaign, looks at previous campaigns, and formulates potential answers (using a constructivist identity framework) to the questions of why Japan always returns to this demand for a Permanent UNSC Seat and what might be motivating it.

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