When United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan met with Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura in Egypt's Sharm el Sheikh last week, he playfully asked whether the so-called G4 nations' campaigning for U.N. Security Council reform stands for the "Gang of Four."

"No, it's the 'Gentlemen's Four,' " Machimura replied.

Annan seemed impressed that Japan is serious in pushing for U.N. reform, an agenda that has been discussed for more than a decade without progress, said a senior Foreign Ministry official, who asked not to be named. The G4 nations are Japan, Brazil, India and Germany.