Jeffrey Sachs exhorted Japan to honor its vow to earmark 0.7 percent of its gross national income as development support to poor countries. Sachs who heads the U.N. Millennium Project and acts as Special Advisor to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan affirmed that such resolve "would serve [the] long-term interests" of the Asian nation, which has been vocal about its desire to gain a permanent seat in the U.N. Security Council. According to him, Tokyo should follow the example of other donor governments that have already fixed a timetable for their aid target. So far, only five European nations strictly observe their funding commitment to the global poverty reduction campaign. (Source: U.N. urges Japan to keep aid promise/United Press International)