In a meeting with Prime Minister Hashimoto at his official residence, Italian Prime Minister Mr. Romano Prodi expressly said that the Italian idea for revamping UN is to increase the number of non-P5 members in the Security Council and differs from Japanese policy, adding, however, that "we never mean thereby to hurt the friendly relationship between the two countries."
Hashimoto in an answer said:
"We understand your meaning well but actually your lobbying in UN has been making Japanese position difficult."