Foreign Ministry renames division for Mongolia

TOKYO, July 2 Kyodo - The Japanese Foreign Ministry added Mongolia to the title of its China Division on Tuesday, making it the China and Mongolia Division, to underscore the ''strategic importance'' of Japan's diplomatic relations with the country,
Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama said.

Japan decided to rename the division as a gesture of gratitude to Mongolia over
its decision last year to give up its bid for a nonpermanent seat on the U.N.
Security Council in 2009 to let Japan run for the post instead, a senior
ministry official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that Ulan Bator
has expressed displeasure over the fact that although Mongolia and China are
two independent nations handled by the same division, the division was only
named after China.

Also on Tuesday, the ministry reorganized its Latin American and Caribbean
Affairs Bureau into the Mexico and Central American Division and the South
America and Caribbean Division. Caribbean affairs were formerly handled by the
then Central American division.

In addition, with Japan's recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, Kosovo
affairs will be added to the jurisdiction of the Central and South Eastern
Europe Division, Kodama said.

Mongolia agreed in January last year to withdraw its bid for a U.N. Security
Council nonpermanent seat for a two-year term starting in 2009 so that Japan
could run for it.

Japan held a two-year nonpermanent seat until the end of 2006 and is constantly
pushing to obtain permanent membership of the council. Nonpermanent seats
cannot be held for consecutive terms, meaning the term from 2009 is the next
earliest term that Japan can run for.==Kyodo