A Japanese daily says Japan initially rejected a U.S. offer to become a joint sponsor for South Korean and Vietnamese membership into the United Nations in 1957.

The Yomiuri Shimbun daily says the Japanese Foreign Ministry turned down the U.S. proposal citing a lack of diplomatic ties with South Korea at the time and South Korean president Rhee Syng-man's unfavorable attitude toward Japan.

The then Japanese ambassador to the U.N. urged his government to rethink the decision considering Japan's future and the free world coalition.

The daily said Japan eventually became a cosponsor but South Korea, together with North Korea, was not awarded U.N. membership until 1991.

The newspaper cited documents exchanged between the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the late ambassador.