Several other Japanese diplomats were less supportive when speaking off the record.

"There's a sense you want to rig the system," a Japanese diplomat here said.

The passengers included four Japanese diplomats, one of whom was accompanied by his wife.

"I don't think it is a strategy with much substance," a senior Japanese diplomat said today.

"We have to find another way," a senior Japanese diplomat said late today.

This was also its position at a meeting with Japanese diplomats in 1956.

"The timing is not exactly ideal," a senior Japanese diplomat said the other day.

A Japanese diplomat said his country had not yet taken a firm position on the issue.

And for reasons that in the end may have little to do with his performance here, the 61-year-old Japanese diplomat could well fail.

"It is a total mess," a Japanese diplomat said tonight.